Narayan Dutt Tiwari, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, dies at 93

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister ND Tiwari died after a prolonged illness in New Delhi on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari died after a prolonged illness here on Thursday. He was 93. The veteran leader, who also served as Union Minister in successive Congress governments, also as Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Chief Minister, was facing several health-related issues was admitted at the Max Hospital in the national capital, where he breathed his last at 2:50 pm. Born on October 18, 1925, the veteran politician died on his 93rd birthday. He was survived by his son Rohit Shekhar and wife Ujjawala Tiwari. The politician was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital on October 26. A team of doctors was monitoring his condition in the ICU round the clock. Tiwari last year joined the BJP ahead of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Tiwari was chief minister of UP three times and the first elected chief minister of Uttarakhand. He also served as a minister at the Centre several times having held charge of key portfolios like Finance and External Affairs. Tiwari was also the Governor of Andhra Pradesh from 2007 to 2009, a post he quit after being embroiled in a sex tape controversy. Sharing the news of Tiwari's death, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat expressed grief over the demise of the seasoned politician.

उत्तराखंड और उत्तर प्रदेश के पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री पं. नारायण दत्त तिवारी जी के निधन पर गहरा दुःख व्यक्त करता हूं। ईश्वर से दिवंगत आत्मा की शांति व परिजनों को दुःख सहने की प्रार्थना करता हूं।

— त्रिवेंद्र सिंह रावत (@tsrawatbjp) October 18, 2018

Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: "Saddened by the passing away of Shri ND Tiwari Ji. A towering leader, he was known for his administrative skills. He will be remembered for his efforts towards industrial growth & working for the progress of UP & Uttarakhand, a state he steered in its initial days. My condolences."

Saddened by the passing away of Shri ND Tiwari Ji. A towering leader, he was known for his administrative skills. He will be remembered for his efforts towards industrial growth & working for the progress of UP & Uttarakhand, a state he steered in its initial days. My condolences

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 18, 2018

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh also condoled the demise of Tiwari, describing him as a great leader and an efficient minister. "His services to the nation as chief ministers of two states, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Union minister of external affairs and finance minister and as governor of the state of Andhra Pradesh will always be remembered for a long time to come," he said in a letter to Tiwari's wife Ujjwala. Congress president Rahul Gandhi said: I’m sorry to hear about the passing of Shri N D Tiwari ji an important and illustrious member of the Congress family, who was respected and admired across party lines. My condolences to his family in their time of grief." He won his first election on a Praja Samajwadi Party ticket from Nainital in 1952. A decade later, he joined the Congress and stuck with it for most of his life. There was a brief period, however, in the 1990s when he floated his own All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) with Arjun Singh also on board. And last year, long after he had outlived his usefulness for his party, Tiwari openly announced his support for the BJP ahead of the assembly elections in Uttarakhand. In 1976, he became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for the first time. Two more stints followed in the 1980s. They were all brief, truncated terms but he will be remembered for being the last Congress chief minister of the populous, politically important state.