Kedar Pandey (14 June 1920 – 3 July 1982) was an Indian freedom fighter and

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

politician, who remained the

Chief Minister of Bihar The chief minister of Bihar serves as the head of the Government of Bihar, overseeing its administration and governance within the constitutional framework of India. While the Governor of Bihar holds the ceremonial role of the constitutional h ...

from March 1972 to 2 July 1973 and

Minister of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...

in the Union Cabinet from 12 November 1980 to 14 January 1982 in the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Personal life

His father's name was the late Pandit Ramphal Panday. He was born at Taulaha Village, West Champaran District on June 14, 1920. His early schooling took place in Paroraha village along with Vikas Mishra. Later on, both were imprisoned during the Indian freedom movement. He married Smt. Kamla Panday on June 6, 1948. He was the father of two sons, including Dr. Manoj Pandey, and two daughters. He did M.Sc. and LL.B from

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

. By profession, he was an agriculturist as well as a political worker and advocate. He practised in the District Courts of Motihari and Bettiah from 1945 to 1948. He also enrolled as an advocate in the Patna High Court in 1949.

Freedom Movement

Before independence, he participated in the Freedom Movement in 1942. Pandey was a part of the famous Young Turks of Bihar Congress during the independence movement along with

Bindeshwari Dubey Bindeshwari Dubey (14 January 1921 – 20 January 1993) was a freedom fighter, trade unionist and politician who served as Chief Minister of Bihar between 12 March 1985 and 13 February 1988. Dubey was involved in the nationalisation of Indian ...

, Bhagwat Jha Azad, Chandrashekhar Singh, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Abdul Ghafoor all future chief ministers and

Sitaram Kesri Sitaram Kesri (15 November 1919 – 24 October 2000) was an Indian politician and parliamentarian. He became a union minister and served as President of the Indian National Congress from 1996 to 1998. __TOC__ Political career Pre-Independenc ...

, future national president of Indian National Congress. He participated in the Trade Union Movement from 1946 to 1957.

Political career

In the first general elections held in 1957, he contested the Bagaha legislative constituency of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha and won. He served as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Police, Irrigation & Power among other portfolios from 1957 to 1962. He was again elected to the Bihar Vidhan Sabha in the Nautan constituency, serving from 1967 to 1977 holding ministerial portfolios such as Industry and Agriculture. He was the Health Minister of Bihar from 27 September 1973 to 11 April 1975 in the Abdul Gafoor cabinet. He was imprisoned for eleven months, courted arrest three times during 1977-79, when

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

was arrested. Post-Emergency, he was named Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee President in 1977. He was Vice-Chairman of Bihar Indian National Trade Union Congress. He was

from March 1972 to 2 July 1973. In 1980 Congress (I) provided a ticket from Bettiah and he became a member of parliament

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

. He was

as well as Ministry of Rural Development from 12 November 1980 to 14 January 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandey, Kedar 1920 births 1982 deaths Chief ministers of Bihar Bihar MLAs 1957–1962 Bihar MLAs 1969–1972 Bihar MLAs 1952–1957 Bihar MLAs 1972–1977 Bihar MLAs 1977–1980 India MPs 1980–1984 Railway ministers of India Banaras Hindu University alumni Indian National Congress politicians from Bihar Lok Sabha members from Bihar Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Presidents of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee