Tulsidas Mehta was an Indian politician, who served as Member of Bihar Legislative Assembly from Jandaha Assembly constituency. He won the 1990 Bihar Legislative Assembly election as a candidate of Janata Dal from this constituency. Mehta was a socialist politician, who also served as a minister in Government of Bihar. He is the father of another Bihar politician and former General Secretary of Rashtriya Janata Dal, Alok Kumar Mehta.[2] He was one of the founder of Rashtriya Janata Dal.[3] Mehta had represented Jandaha Assembly constituency multiple times, winning the Assembly elections of 1962, 1969, 1985, 1990 and 1995.

Tulsidas Mehta
Member of Bihar Legislative Assembly[1]
In office
1962–1967
ConstituencyJandaha Assembly constituency
In office
1969–1972
ConstituencyJandaha
In office
1985–1990
ConstituencyJandaha
In office
1990–1995
ConstituencyJandaha
In office
1995–2000
ConstituencyJandaha
Personal details
Political partyJanata Dal
Samyukta Socialist Party
Lok Dal
ResidenceBihar
OccupationPolitician

Political career

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Born into a Koeri family of Bihar, Mehta was a socialist politician.[4] He was associated initially with Socialist Party, on the ticket of which, he won his first state assembly elections in 1962. In 1969, after his second electoral victory in state assembly elections, he was made a minister of state in Government of Bihar.[5] Mehta won the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections of 1969, 1985, 1990 and 1995; he was appointed as cabinet minister in Government of Bihar for the first time in the cabinet of Karpoori Thakur in the year 1970. Mehta also served as cabinet minister twice in Lalu Prasad Yadav's cabinet.[6] Mehta was an accomplice of socialist leader Akshayawat Rai, who motivated him to contest the 1962 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections. According to Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, Shivanand Tiwari, Mehta hesitated to contest his first election on the advice of Rai, as he was unable to bear the expenses of the election. However, when the election campaign began, he was able to defeat his political rival Rajvanshi Singh, who was supported by Indian National Congress leader Deep Narayan Singh and was a chairman of Bihar Cooperative Federation. Mehta himself admitted in front of Shivanand Tiwari that he was able to win at minimal election expenses due to support of dedicated party workers, who campaigned for him without any fee.[7]

His son, Alok Kumar Mehta is also considered as a veteran politician of Rashtriya Janata Dal, having assumed several significant positions in the party. The Mehta family is reported to have considerable influence in the politics of Samastipur district and adjoining area.[8]

Other contributions

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Mehta is also known for his work in cooperative sector. He was the founder of The Vaishali Cooperative Bank and Cooperative Cold Storage facility in state of Bihar.[9]

Death

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Mehta died in 2019 at an age of ninety three. His last rites were performed at Konhara Ghat in Hajipur. This event was attended by many notable Bihar politicians like Upendra Kushwaha, Tejashwi Yadav, Ramai Ram and Jagada Nand Singh.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Election Commission of India Results". ECI. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  2. ^ "नहीं रहे तुलसी दास मेहता, नीतीश-राबड़ी ने जताया दुख, राजद ने कार्यालय का झुकाया झंडा". Dainik Jagran. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  3. ^ "तुलसी दास मेहता को शोक सभा में दी गई श्रद्धांजलि". Dainik Bhaskar. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Denting Nitish's 'Luv-Kush' vote, synergy with Raje, OBC push — why BJP has new chiefs in 4 states". The print. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Tulsidas Mehta died at the age of 93". patrika (in Hindi). 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Former minister Tulsidas Mehta passes away". Punjab Kesari. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Shivanand Tiwari tells untold story of Tulsidas Mehta". NDTV. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Lalu scions Speedy climb up the RJD ladder ruffles many feathers in Bihar". Economic Times. 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Anniversary of Tulsidas Mehta and Ram Vilas Paswan celebrated". Dainik Bhaskar. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Ex Minister Tulsidas Mehta last ritual". Dainik Jagran. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.