Indira Hridayesh


Indira Hridayesh was an Indian politician, from the state of Uttarakhand. She was a member of the Indian National Congress party. Hridayesh was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council for four terms, from 1974 to 2000. She was elected to the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly in 2002, 2012, and 2017. Between 2014 and 2017, she was the State Finance Minister for Uttarakhand. From 2017 till her death in 2021, she was the leader of the Opposition for the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.

Biography

Hridayesh was born on 24 March 1941, either in Allahabad or in Pilbhit, in Uttar Pradesh, according to sources. Her family was from Dasauli, in Uttar Pradesh. She had a master's degree and a doctorate. She had three sons. She was diagnosed with COVID-19, and underwent cardiac surgery in 2021. She died on 13 June 2021, of cardiac arrest.

Career

Hridayesh entered active politics in the mid-1970s, as part of the Indian National Congress party. She won her first election in 1974, to the upper house of the state of Uttar Pradesh's bicameral legislature, i.e. the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. She won second, third and fourth terms to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council from 1986-1992, 1992-1998, and 1998-2000. Hridayesh represented Haldwani constituency, which was in undivided Uttar Pradesh. In 2000, after Uttar Pradesh was divided into smaller states, she became a member of the Interim Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly for the new state of Uttarakhand. She won three more terms to the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, from 2002-2007, 2012-2017, and 2017-2021 but lost in 2007 to Banshidhar Bhagat. During her last term, she was leader of the opposition for the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.
From 2012 to 2017, she was the Minister of Finance for Uttarakhand, and also held the portfolio for parliamentary affairs, higher education, and planning, serving in successive governments headed by ND Tiwari, Vijay Bahuguna, and Harish Rawat. In 2014, she suggested that she would be a suitable candidate for Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, to replace the then-Chief Minister, Vijay Bahuguna, but her proposal was not accepted by the INC.
Hridayesh was considered an expert on parliamentary procedure, and was a key strategist for the INC in Uttarakhand politics.

Electoral history

Hridayesh's electoral history is:
YearDescription
1974–1980Elected to Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council
1986–1992Elected to Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council
1992–1998Elected to Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council
1998–2000Elected to Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council
2000–2002Member Interim Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
2002–2007Elected to Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
  • Cabinet Minister for Public Works, Parliamentary Affairs,
    • State Assets, Information, Science & Technology
    2007Lost from Haldwani to Banshidhar Bhagat
    2012–2017Elected to Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
    Entertainment Tax, Parliamentary Affairs, Legislative Affairs,
    Election, Census, Language, Protocol
    2017 – 2021Elected to Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly