Keshari Nath Tripathi is an Indian politician and former member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has served as Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly three times, from 1991 to 1993, from 1997 to 2002, and from May 2002 to March 2004. He has served as the Governor of West Bengal (July 2014-July 2019) and had additional charges for short stints as Governor of Bihar, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Keshari Nath Tripathi was born on Saturday, 10 November 1934 (age 88 years; as of 2022) in Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India). His zodiac sign is Scorpio. Till Class 1, he attended Central Hindu School. From Class 2 to 8, he studied at Saryu Pareen School (now Sarvaya Inter College), Allahabad, a school co-founded by his father. He completed his intermediate studies at Agarwal Inter College, Allahabad. He inclined towards social work and national politics during his formative years. This inclination can be traced back to 1946 when he became a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He was associated with the right-wing political party Jana Sangh since its inception in 1952. He pursued a Bachelor of Arts (1953) and a Bachelor of Legislative Law (1955) at the University of Allahabad. His active participation in the Kashmir movement launched by Jana Sangh in 1953 led to his arrest following which he was lodged in Naini Central Jail, UP. Later, he obtained his Honorary D.Litt degree from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. [1]Amazon
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Grey
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Keshari Nath Tripathi’s father, Harish Chandra Tripathi, was commonly referred to as Hari Maharaj. Harish served in various positions at the Allahabad High Court and retired in 1949. After that, Harish engaged himself in social work. Along with his associates, Harish founded the Saryu Pareen School, which is now known as Sarvaya Inter College, Allahabad. His mother’s name is Shiva Devi. His elder brother’s name is Kashi Nath Tripathi.
Wife & Children
In 1958, he got married to Sudha Tripathi (deceased). She is the daughter of the well-known freedom fighter of Varanasi Satya Narain Misra. Together, they have a son, Neeraj Tripathi, and two daughters, Namita and Nidhi. While Neeraj is an advocate in Allahabad High Court, Nidhi is an officer in Armed Forces Headquarters Service, New Delhi. In 2016, Sudha Tripathi died of a brain stroke at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Dehli. Neeraj Tripathi’s wife, Kavita Yadav Tripathi, is also a politician and a member of BJP.
Keshari Nath Tripathi with his son Neeraj Tripathi, and daughter-in-law, Kavita Yadav Tripathi
Keshari Nath Tripathi with his family
Address
12, B, Dr. Lohia Marg, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh – 211001
Career
Law
In 1956, he enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh after which he practised in the Allahabad High Court. Initially, he was Jagdish Swarup’s junior at Allahabad High Court for many years. In 1965, he became the Joint Secretary of the High Court Bar Association, Allahabad. An expert in Election law, he represented various distinguished clients like former Prime Ministers Atal Behari Vajpayee and Charan Singh, Subramanian Swamy, Raj Narain, Former CM of Uttar Pradesh HN Bahuguna, Kalyan Singh, Laxmikant Bajpai, and various other ministers, members of the Lok Sabha and UP Legislative Assembly. He was the President of the High Court Bar Association, Allahabad for two terms, from 1987 to 1988 and from 1988 to 1989. In 1989, he became a Senior Advocate in the Allahabad High Court.
Politics
Janata Party (JNP)
1977 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections
In 1977, Keshari Nath Tripathi, on a ticket from the Janata Party (JNP), contested and won the Jhusi assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh defeating the INC candidate Vidhya Dhar by 6182 votes. He served as MLA from Jhusi till 1980. From 1977 to 1979, he served as the Minister of Institutional Finance. He was also given the charge of Finance and Sales Tax.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
In April 1980, he joined the BJP. He became President of the Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party in 2004. He was a member of the National Disciplinary Committee of the party and also a Member of its National Executive.
1989 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections
In 1989, Keshari Nath Tripathi contested and won the Allahabad South assembly seat defeating the INC candidate Shatish Chander Jaiswal by 7532 votes.
1991 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections
In 1991, he contested and won the Allahabad South assembly seat defeating the Janata Dal (JD) candidate Ramji Keshrwani by 17633 votes. In the same year, he became the Speaker of the UP Legislative Assembly.
1993 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections
In 1993, he contested and won the Allahabad South assembly seat defeating the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Abdul Nazir Khan Alias Nanhey Khan by 21,020 votes.
1996 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections
In 1996, he contested and won the Allahabad South assembly seat defeating the SP candidate Hari Om Sahoo by 23,554 votes. In 1997, he resumed his position as the Speaker of the state assembly.
2002 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections
In 2002, he contested and won the Allahabad South assembly seat defeating the SP candidate Shyama Charan Gupt by 2075 votes. He continued to hold the position of Speaker till March 2004.
2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections
In 2012, he contested and lost the Allahabad South assembly seat.
Constitutional Posts
From 24 July 2014 to 29 July 2019, he served as the Governor of West Bengal. As the Governor of West Bengal Tripathi is also the Chancellor of State Universities in West Bengal. He was sworn in as the Governor of Bihar (additional charge) on 27 November 2014; he served in this position till 15 August 2015. On 6 January 2015, he was sworn in as the 14th Governor of Meghalaya and served there till 19 May 2015. On 4 April 2015, he was given the additional charge as Governor of Mizoram, and he served in this capacity till 25 May 2015. In September 2015, he took the oath of office as the Governor of Tripura (additional charge). From 20 June 2017 to 29 September 2017, he served as Governor of Bihar (additional charge).
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- Uttar Pradesh Gaurav Samman
- Vishwa Bharti Award
- Uttar Pradesh Ratna Award
- Hindi Garima Samman
- Acharya Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi Samman
- Sahitya Vachaspati Samman
- Abhishek Shri Samman
- Bagishwari Samman
- Chanakya Samman (in Canada)
- Kavya Kaustubh Samman
Assets/Properties
Movable Assets
- Cash: Rs 1,42,500
- Deposits in Banks, Financial Institutions and Non-Banking Financial Companies: Rs 71,35,651
- Bonds, Debentures and Shares in companies: Rs 48,097
- NSS, Postal Savings etc: Rs 30,000
- Motor Vehicles: Rs 10,00,000
- Jewellery: Rs 22,84,269
Immovable Assets
- Residential Buildings: Rs 1,70,00,000
Note: The given estimates of moveable and immovable assets are as per the financial year 2010-2011. [2]My Neta
Net Worth
His net worth as of the financial year 2010-2011 is Rs 2,76,41,516. [3]My Neta
Facts/Trivia
- He was the President of the UP branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association from 1991 to 1993 and in 1997. He attended the Conferences of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2001.
- He actively works for the promotion and encouragement of the Hindi language. He has served as the Acting President of UP Hindi Sansthan, Lucknow. A Hindi scholar, he spoke at the World Hindi Conference in London in 1999 and in Paramaribo in 2003.
- In 1980, he was offered to be elevated to Judge of Allahabad High Court, but he rejected it.
- A bibliophile, Tripathi is also an author and poet. Various literary works under his belt include Destination Jesus (2021), The Wings of Age (2018), Jakhmon par shabab (2017), Khayalon Ka Safar (2017), The Images (Manonukriti in Hindi) (2002). Tripathi has also written an exhaustive commentary on the Representation of the People Act (1951) which, when published in 1974, was regarded as the last word in election law.
- Tripathi, along with two other lawyers, drafted the election petition against Indira Gandhi, which was ultimately allowed in June 1975 after which her election was set aside.
