Hari Shankar Tiwari Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)	• Politician • Social Worker
Famous for	First gangster turned politician of Uttar Pradesh
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 175 cm in meters- 1.75 m in feet & inches- 5’ 9”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 70 kg in pounds- 154 lbs
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Salt and pepper
Politics
Political Party	• Indian National Congress (INC) • All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) • Akhil Bharatiya Loktantrik Congress
Political Journey	• In 1985, he became MLA from Chillupar constituency in Uttar Pradesh for the first time. • In late 1980s, he joined the Indian National Congress (INC). • In 1996, he joined All India Indira Congress (Tiwari). • In October 1997, he formed his own political party, Akhil Bharatiya Loktantrik Congress. • He became MLA for 6 consecutive times from 1985 till 2007. • He served as cabinet minister under Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta, Rajnath Singh, Mayawati, and Mulayam Singh Yadav. • He lost the legislative elections in 2007 and 2012. • He retired from active politics after losing the 2012 legislative elections.
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Source 1: 5 August 1933 (Saturday) Source 2: 5 August 1935 (Monday)
Birthplace	Tanda village in Chillupar, Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India (then - United Province, British India)
Date of Death	16 May 2023
Place of Death	Dharamshala area of Gorakhpur
Age (at the time of death)	Source 1: 87 Years Source 2: 89 Years
Death Cause	Kidney and Heart disease [1]Navbharat Times [2]Hindustan Times
Zodiac sign	Leo
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh
School	Name not known
College/University	Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur
Educational Qualification	He pursued a Master of Arts at Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur till 1961. [3]MyNeta
Religion	Hindu [4]Hindustan Times
Caste	Brahmin [5]Hindustan Times
Controversies	• Criminal Activities According to reports, Hari Shankar Tiwari was accused of providing political protection to local criminals and using them to exact revenge on his enemies. He was allegedly involved in over 35 cases related to murder and violence, including charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the National Security Act, and the Gangster (Prevention) Act. Despite the numerous charges against him, Tiwari was never convicted in any of the cases. • Alleging Yogi Adityanath of harassment [6]The Asian Age In April 2017, after Yogi Adityanath became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a police team raided the residence of Hari Shankar Tiwari to search for a robbery suspect. However, the police team did not have any court order to carry out the search. It was the first time that the police had entered his house, which led to his supporters protesting against the local administration on the streets of Gorakhpur. Tiwari himself alleged that Yogi was trying to harass him due to their past enmity.
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Ramlali Devi
Children	Son- 2 • Bheeshma Shankar Tiwari alias Kushal Tiwari (politician) • Vinay Shankar Tiwari (politician) Daughter- 1 (Name not known)
Parents	Father- Bhola Nath (priest) Mother- Name not known
Siblings	Brother- 2 • Shiv Shankar Tiwari (died in 2018 at age of 83 years) • Kishan Shankar Tiwari Sister- Name not known
Other Relatives	• Rita Tiwari (daughter-in-law) (Vinay Shankar Tiwari's wife) • Ganesh Shankar Pandey (nephew) (politician)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Hari Shankar Tiwari

• Hari Shankar Tiwari, an Indian criminal turned politician and social activist, had an extensive political career spanning over five decades. He served as a cabinet minister in the Uttar Pradesh government under five different Chief Ministers. Tiwari’s political influence was particularly strong in the Brahmin community of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, notably in Gorakhpur. He collaborated with renowned politicians such as Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Mulayam Singh Yadav.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari worked with Rajiv Gandhi during the late 1980s

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari with Atal Bihari Vajpayee

• After finishing his education, he entered the world of politics.
  

  A collage of photos of Hari Shankar Tiwari

• In 1984, he enrolled for a PhD in Sociology, but he did not finish the program.

• Hari Shankar Tiwari participated in student politics while studying at Gorakhpur University. On 30 August 1979, Ravindra Singh, an MLA from Kauriram and a member of the Janta Party, was assassinated. Hari Shankar Tiwari was mentioned in the First Information Report (FIR) related to the incident.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari in the early 1980s

• Afterwards, his group began to compete for contracts related to scrap materials from the railway and used the profits to purchase firearms.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari during a court hearing

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari during a religious function

• Later, he engaged in a power struggle with Virendra Pratap Shahi, a member of the Rajput community, for dominance over Gorakhpur.

• There are claims that Surti Narayan Mani Tripathi, also known as SNM Tripathi or Pandit Tripathi, aimed to reduce the influence of Gorakhnath Math. He allegedly assisted Tiwari in establishing a courtyard (Hata) at his residence, where they could offer assistance to the local community, similar to the activities carried out by the Math.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari at his courtyard where he used to solve people’s grievances

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari with his supporters

• As a result, a long-standing feud developed between Gorakhnath Math and Tiwari, persisting throughout his lifetime. When Yogi Adityanath assumed leadership of Gorakhnath Math, he became the leader of the Rajput community, while Tiwari emerged as a leader representing the Brahmin community.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari (left) during his early years as a politician

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari in 1980s

• While he was still in jail, Hari Shankar Tiwari decided to run for elections from the Chillupar constituency as an independent candidate in 1985. He emerged victorious, defeating Markendayanand, who was representing the Congress party, by a significant margin of 21,728 votes. This event marked the first time in India’s history that a candidate won an election while being imprisoned.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari filing his nomination in the 1980s

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari during a political function

• Many people believe that he provided political cover to numerous gangsters, including Shri Prakash Shukla and Amarmani Tripathi. In 1997, Shri Prakash Shukla, who was associated with Tiwari, killed Tiwari’s primary political opponent, Virendra Pratap Shahi, in Lucknow.

• After his initial victory as an independent candidate, Hari Shankar Tiwari joined the Indian National Congress party. He formed a strong bond of friendship with Rajiv Gandhi, who was the Prime Minister of India at that time.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari with Rajiv Gandhi

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari speaking at a government function

• Subsequently, he distanced himself from the Congress party and instead aligned with the All India Indira Congress (Tiwari), which was led by N. D. Tiwari. However, in October 1997, he decided to establish his own political party along with Jagdambika Pal, Rajeev Shukla, Shyam Sunder Sharma, and Bacha Pathak. The party was named Akhil Bharatiya Loktantrik Congress.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari in 1990s

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari speaking at a public rally

• He won the Legislative elections six times and became cabinet minister five times in different governments.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari with Mulayam Singh Yadav

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari with P. V. Narasimha Rao

• Hari Shankar Tiwari’s political decline began in 2007 when he faced defeat in the legislative election for the Chillupar seat, losing to Rajesh Tripathi. In the subsequent 2012 legislative elections, he suffered another defeat, once again losing to Rajesh Tripathi.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari at a public function

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari (right) during a government function

• Following these losses, he retired from active politics and chose not to contest any future elections. However, he retained his influence in the region despite stepping away from the political arena.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari after retiring from politics

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari during a program

• On the evening of May 16, 2023, at approximately 7:30 pm, Hari Shankar Tiwari experienced discomfort and passed away at his home in the Dharamshala locality of Gorakhpur. He had been dealing with kidney and heart ailments for the past 2-3 years.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari’s house in the Dharamshala area of Gorakhpur

  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari at his residence

• After his demise, his body was taken to his ancestral village, Tanda, where his followers gathered to pay their last respects. Many notable figures, including the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Singh Yadav, expressed their condolences and shared heartfelt tributes to Tiwari on social media platforms like Twitter.
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari’s funeral procession was carried through Gorakhpur

• He was a devout follower of Pandit Acharya Shri Ram Sharma and had a daily practice of reciting the Gayatri mantra.

• Hari Shankar Tiwari is considered to be the first gangster who turned to politics in Uttar Pradesh. He achieved the distinction of being the first person in India to win an election while in jail.

• His supporters affectionately referred to him as the ‘Purvanchal ka Sher.’
  

  Hari Shankar Tiwari playing with a dog