H. K. L. Bhagat | |
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Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs | |
In office December 1975 – March 1977 | |
Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting | |
In office February 1983 – December 1984 | |
Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs | |
In office 31 December 1984 – 2 December 1989 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 4 April 1921 Sahiwal, Punjab, British India |
Died | 29 October 2005 (aged 84) New Delhi, India |
Hari Krishan Lal Bhagat (4 April 1921 – 29 October 2005) was an Indian politician of the Congress party. He served as the Deputy Mayor and Mayor of Delhi, the Chief Whip of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), and as a six-time MP and Union minister for 22 years. Hailed as the “Uncrowned King Of Delhi" and "Kingmaker", Bhagat was commonly known for being a successful loyalist to Indira Gandhi and maintained unparalleled influence in Delhi and the Congress Party throughout the 1970s and 80s. During his time as a politician, Bhagat instated massive influence in Delhi, and it's often alleged that no Delhi politician could start their careers without the approval of Bhagat, thus giving him the name "Kingmaker". Bhagat's career reached its peak in the 1984 election, in which his victory for the East Delhi seat was second largest out of all 543 victories in the entire country. Bhagat's career declined in the early 1990s after he was named in several commissions investigating the role of Congress politicians during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. His alleged role in the riots is controversial, though he was cleared by the government in two trials in the 1990s and early 2000s.[1]