Syama Prasad Mukherjee(6 July 1901 – 23 June 1953) was an Indian politician, barrister and academician, who served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. After falling out with Nehru,protesting against the Nehru-Liaquat pact, Mukherjee resigned from the Nehru' 's cabinet.With the help of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor to the Bharatiya Janata Party, in 1951.
He was also the president of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha from 1943 to 1946. He died in the custody of Jammu and Kashmir Police in 1953.He was provisionally diagnosed of a heart attack and shifted to a hospital but died a day later.In 2004, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had claimed that he was murdered in a "Nehru conspiracy".Since the Bharatiya Janata Party is the successor to the Bhartiya Jana Sangh, Mukherjee is also regarded as the founder of the Bharatiya Janata Party.