Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Narayan Datt Tiwari, known as ND Tiwari, has died at the age of 93. The veteran Congress leader, died on the day of his birthday. He breathed his last at Max Hospital, Delhi and had been suffering from kidney ailments. ND Tiwari was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for three times, 1976-77, 1984-85 and 1988-89. He served as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from 2002-2007 after the state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh on November 9, 2000. ND Tiwari, Veteran Congress Leader, Dies at 93 on His Birthday.

In the year 1925, Narayan Dutt Tiwari was born in Kumaoni family in Nainital district. His father was an officer in the forest department and participated in the Non-cooperation movement. ND Tiwari dabbled in politics and participated in the freedom struggle against the British. He was also lodged in the jail for 15 months for writing leaflets opposing the imperialist regime in India. He completed his education from the Allahabad University in Political Science and was the president of the students' union of the Allahabad University in 1947.

ND Tiwari joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in the year 1963 although he had fought an election in the year 1952 and been elected as an MLA on the Praja Samajwadi Party ticket from Nainital constituency. ND Tiwari was the most important political figure in Uttar Pradesh in the 1970s and 1980s as he served as the Chief Minister of the state thrice.

In fact, in the early 90s, he was the also a contender for the Prime Minister's post but lost out the post to PV Narasimha Rao. He had his differences with the Congress in the 1990s and even left the party to form his own All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) party, but joined the party again in two years time.

However, despite his successful political career, ND Tiwari was not without controversies. He was involved in a sex scandal that began with the broadcast by Telugu language satellite news channel ABN Andhra Jyothi of a video that showed Tiwari in bed with three women at his official residence in the Raj Bhavan. In 2008, Rohit Shekhar Tiwari filed a paternity suit claiming Tiwari to be his biological father.

The court ordered that DNA mapping of Tiwari be done, which the court successfully compelled compliance with on 29 May 2012. On 27 July 2012, the Delhi High Court, citing a need to end the controversy, rejected a request from Tiwari's lawyers to keep his paternity test result a secret. Tiwari married Ujjwala Tiwari in 2014 at the age of 89 and probably became the oldest Indian politician to get married. It is difficult to predict how history will judge ND Tiwari for he lived such a long life in politics that he himself was part of much of modern India's political history.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 18, 2018 04:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).