Ex-Congress minister Jagdish Nehra passes away in Hisar

Hisar, January 18

Former Haryana Minister and Congress leader Jagdish Nehra (84), who is known for his political rivalry with the Chautala family in Sirsa district, died after a brief illness at a private hospital in Hisar today.

Nehra was two time Congress MLA from the Rori Assembly segment in Sirsa district in 1982 and 1991. He served as a minister for 10 years holding portfolios of education, public health, irrigation and parliamentary affairs in the Bhajan Lal Cabinet. He has two sons – Surender and Sandeep. While Sandeep is a state government employee, Surender died last year. In 1971, he debuted in politics and became a panch in Panniwala Mota village and later a panchayat samiti member from Sirsa district. He joined the Congress and contested the first election on the Congress ticket from Rori in 1977 but lost to the Janata Party candidate.

Nehra’s political rivalry with the Chautala family started in 1982 when as a Congress candidate, he defeated Pratap Chautala (elder brother of former CM Om Prakash Chautala) of Lok Dal in 1982 election from Rori. He was inducted in the Bhajan Lal Cabinet as Education Minister. However, he lost to Ranjit Chautala (younger brother of Om Prakash Chautala) in 1987.