Nilamani Routray (24 May 1920 – 4 October 2004) was an Indian politician and the

Chief Minister of Odisha The chief minister of Odisha, an Indian state, is the head of the Government of Odisha. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Follow ...

from 1977 to 1980. He served as the Health and Family Welfare Minister and then Forest and Environment Minister in the Union Government led by

V.P. Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the Raja Bahadur of Manda. He was educated at Allahabad University and Fergusson College in ...

. He died on 4 October 2004.

Political career

Nilamani Routray was a founder of the Odisha unit of

All India Students Federation The All India Students' Federation (AISF) is the oldest Student society, student organisation in India, founded in 1936. Pre-independence AISF was founded on 12 August 1936, with guidance and cooperation from the Indian independence movemen ...

. He was the president of the Odisha state unit of the

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 ...

from 1967 to 1970. Later he joined the Utkal Congress and became its president. Subsequent merger of Utkal Congress with

Bharatiya Lok Dal Bharatiya Lok Dal () was a political party in India. The BLD or simply BL was formed at the end of 1974 through the fusion of seven parties opposed to the rule of Indira Gandhi, including the Swatantra Party, the Samyukta Socialist Party, the ...

, he became the president of its state unit of the merged entity. He was elected to the

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 ...

in 1989.

Works

His autobiography ''Smruti O Anubhuti'' (1986) won the

Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary award awarded to an Odia language litterateur for outstanding contribution to Odia literature in various categories by the Odisha Sahitya Akademi, an institution established in 1957 in Odisha for activ ...

in 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Routray, Nilamani Chief ministers of Odisha 1920 births 2004 deaths Deputy chief ministers of Odisha People from Balasore district India MPs 1989–1991 Lok Sabha members from Odisha Rajya Sabha members from Odisha Ravenshaw University alumni Chief ministers from Janata Party Janata Party politicians Janata Dal politicians People from Puri district Utkal Congress politicians Bharatiya Lok Dal politicians Odisha MLAs 1977–1980 Indian National Congress politicians from Odisha Writers from Odisha Odia-language writers Recipients of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award