V. G. Deshpande

{{short description|Indian politician}}

{{Use dmy dates|date= January 2025}}

{{Use Indian English|date= January 2025}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = V G Deshpande|

| office1 = Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

| term_start1 = 1952

| term_end1 = 1957

| successor1 = Vijaya Raje Scindia

| constituency1 = Guna

| party = Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha

| nationality = Indian

| birth_date =

| birth_place = Mehkar, Maharashtra, India

| relations = N G Deshpande (brother) Sumatitai Suklikar (cousin)

}}

{{Use Indian English|date=June 2015}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}

Vishnu Ghanashyam Deshpande was an Indian politician. He was born in Mehkar, Dist. Buldana, Maharashtra. He was the general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha.Ralhan, Om Prakash. [https://books.google.com/books?id=rzUAZyYE3hgC Post-Independence India: Indian National Congress. Encyclopaedia of political parties : India, Pakistan, Bangladesh; national, regional, local, Vol. 33]. New Delhi: Anmol Publ, 1998, {{ISBN|8174888659}}. p. 67

V.G. Deshpande took part in the civil resisters' mission of the Hindu Mahasabha to the Hyderabad state in March 1939, to protest against the Nizam's rule.Joglekar, Jaywant D. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1J3uk3x_k6sC Veer Savarkar Father of Hindu Nationalism]. {{ISBN|1847283802}}. pp. 124-125

During the period of 1948 to 1952, V.G. Deshpande was repeatedly targeted by preventive arrests.{{sfn|Jaffrelot|1996|p=107}} On 27 January 1948 he had denounced Mohandas Gandhi, claiming Gandhi was responsible for the Partition of India.{{sfn|Jaffrelot|1996|p=82}} After the murder of Gandhi three days later by a Hindu Mahasabha member, Deshpande was arrested.Swain, Pratap Chandra. [https://books.google.com/books?id=7Gk1Wz4k_xUC Bharatiya Janata Party: Profile and Performance]. New Delhi: A.P.H. Pub. Corp, 2001. {{ISBN|8176482579}}, p. 58

In the 1951 general election, V.G. Deshpande managed to get elected from two Lok Sabha constituencies (Gwalior and Guna).{{sfn|Jaffrelot|1996|p=110}} In Guna he obtained 56,518 votes (40.70% of the votes in the constituency), defeating the Indian National Congress candidate Gopi Krishna Vijayvargiya. In Gwailor he got 65,695 votes (45.49%), defeating the Vaidehi Charan Parashar.[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1951/VOL_1_51_LS.PDF Statistical Report 1951] He renounced his Gwailor seat, to enable Hindu Mahasabha president N. B. Khare to contest it in a by-election.{{sfn|Jaffrelot|1996|p=110}}

V.G. Deshpande lost his parliamentary seat in the 1957 general election to Rajmata Vijayraje Scindia of the Indian National Congress.{{sfn|Jaffrelot|1996|p=112}} He finished second with 58,521 votes (33.04% of the votes in Guna).[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1957/Vol_I_57_LS.pdf Statistical Report 1957] He later joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.{{sfn|Jaffrelot|1996|p=153}}

In early 1964, V.G. Deshpande called for on the Indian and Pakistani governments to initiate a population exchange, transporting the Hindu minority of Pakistan to India and expelling the Muslims of West Bengal and Assam to Pakistan.Aggarwal, J. C., and S. P. Agrawal. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XNqOjvaAb9cC Modern History of Jammu and Kashmir: Ancient Times to Shimla Agreement]. New Delhi: Concept Publ. Co, 1995. {{ISBN|8170225574}}. p. 326

V. G. Deshpande took part in the foundation of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in 1964.{{sfn|Jaffrelot|1996|p=198}}

His brother, N.G. Deshpande (1909-2000), was a noted Marathi poet. His cousin, Sumati Sukalikar, was also a leader of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in Nagpur, who contested a couple of elections unsuccessfully.