The veteran leader Narayan Dutt Tiwari was the only politician to serve as the Chief Minister of two states and Governor of the third state. The prominent leader achieved an outstanding career in politics in his 93-year-old life. From becoming the youngest jailed freedom fighter to a seasoned administrator and an amiable politician with an instinctive aptitude for befriending his political opponents.
He served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh three times and one time as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He also served as the Minister of External Affairs under then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He had joined Congress in the year 1963 and is the only Indian politician to have served as Chief Minister of two states Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. He also served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in the Chaudhary Charan Singh government during 1925-80.
“He overcame all odds owing to his extraordinary intelligence and political acumen to carry both his supporters and detractors along. It would not be possible for him to stand out in the fiercely competitive world of politics despite his humble origins,” said Deepak Balutia, nephew of ND Tiwari.
ND Tiwari’s Childhood Days
Tiwari was born in a poor family on October 18, 1925, at Baluti. Coming from a freedom fighter family, his father Poornanand Tiwari, a government clerk by profession left his job to join the freedom struggle. He was the youngest freedom fighter as he was sentenced to jail for participating in the freedom movement when he was hardly 15 years old. In fact, he and his father remained incarcerated in Nainital jail for quite some time.
Due to the financial crisis, his father denied any further support to educate Tiwari following which he left home to get himself enrolled at Allahabad University.
“During those days I didn’t have enough money to buy vegetables, so, I used to bake paranthas using oil, instead of ghee, and eat them,” said Tiwari at public meeting years back.
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Tiwari’s Career as a politician
Tiwari, who initially made his political foray with the Praja Socialist Party in 1952, joined the Congress in 1963, won the Kashipur assembly seat two years later and went on to become Uttar Pradesh chief minister in 1976, a post he held thrice. He won the Lok Sabha election from Nainital in 1980 and became a minister in the Indira Gandhi government besides holding several positions including the Planning commission deputy chairman. He also held several key portfolios including those of external affairs, finance, and commerce in the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet.
Tiwari was a strong contender of Prime Ministerial position during the 1991 general elections, owing to his proximity to the Gandhi family. Unfortunately, he lost from the Nainital Lok Sabha seat in 1991 losing the opportunity to become Prime Minister. Sonia Gandhi chose him for the post of chief minister of Uttarakhand in 2002 which he accepted quietly. Even leaders of rival parties appreciate his five-year stint.
Tiwari and his controversies
The leader also served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh between 2007 and 2009 before resigning following a sting operation that brought an unexpected turn in the political career of Tiwari. He was forced to resign from the position of Andhra Pradesh Governor following the sex scandal allegations. However, he cited health reasons in his resignation letter.
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Tiwari was also caught up in a controversy after lawyer Rohit Shekhar emerged to claim Tiwari his biological father and filed a paternity suit in the matter. Shekhar claimed that he was born out of an illegitimate relationship between the Congress veteran and his mother Ujjwala. However, the politician stood by his words calling it a fake claim. Nevertheless, a DNA test that was conducted on the court’s ordered confirmed Rohit was his biological son. Later he announced his support for the Bharatiya Janata Party in his last years of political career ahead of 2017 assembly polls in Uttarakhand.
