Inglorious end to ND Tiwari's five-decade political career

A topper in law from Allahabad University, Tiwari has held several key positions in his political career spanning over five decades. He has been chief minister and held important portfolios as union minister, including that of finance and defence. He has also been deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.

After Rajiv Gandhi's asassination in 1991, Tiwari was one of the leading contenders for the prime minister's post, till he was upstaged by P.V. Narasimha Rao.
He was the last Congress chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1989 and occupied the post thrice earlier. He was the first elected chief minister of Uttarakhand in 2002 before being sent to Andhra Pradesh as a governor in 2007 after the party lost the Uttarakhand assembly elections.

Born on Oct 18, 1925, Tiwari participated in the freedom struggle and was jailed at the age of 17. Tiwari started his political journey as a socialist in 1952 and joined the Congress in 1963.