Veteran SP Leader Ram Govind Chaudhary Dies at 73
Former UP minister and eight-time MLA passes away in Lucknow; leaders across party lines condole his death
- Ram Govind Chaudhary died at SGPGI in Lucknow at 73.
- He served as a minister and eight-time MLA in Uttar Pradesh.
- Chaudhary was Leader of Opposition from 2017 to 2022.
- Yogi Adityanath, Akhilesh Yadav and Satish Mahana condoled his death.
GG News Bureau
Lucknow, 26th Sept: Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Ram Govind Chaudhary died on Friday night while undergoing treatment at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow. He was 73.
SP media in-charge Sushil Pandey said Chaudhary, who had also served as Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, breathed his last around 9 pm.
Chaudhary had been suffering from heart- and kidney-related ailments for a prolonged period. He had earlier undergone heart surgery at Medanta Hospital in Lucknow and received treatment and dialysis at Max Hospital. He had been admitted to SGPGI around two weeks before his death.
Leaders pay tribute
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over Chaudhary’s demise and described his death as deeply saddening. He paid tribute to the former minister and prayed for peace for the departed soul and strength for the bereaved family.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav also condoled the death, describing Chaudhary as a senior party leader and former Leader of Opposition.
Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana said Chaudhary’s death was a loss to Uttar Pradesh’s public life and remembered him as an experienced politician and dedicated public representative.
Long political career
Born on July 9, 1953, in a village in the Sikandarpur area of Ballia district, Chaudhary entered public life through student politics. He studied at Satish Chandra College and later Shri Murli Manohar Town Post-Graduate College in Ballia.
He became general secretary of the Town College Students’ Union in 1972 and its president in 1974. During the Emergency, he participated in the movement for democratic rights and was imprisoned in Ballia and Barabanki jails.
Chaudhary worked with socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan and remained associated with former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.
He served as an MLA eight times and held ministerial portfolios under Mulayam Singh Yadav on two occasions and under Akhilesh Yadav from 2012 to 2017.
From March 2017 to March 2022, Chaudhary served as Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
He is survived by his son and other family members.
