Sitaram Kesri

Sitaram Kesri (15 November 1919 – 24 October 2000) was an Indian politician and parliamentarian. He became a union minister and served as President of the Indian National Congress from 1996 to 1998. Political career Pre-Independence Politics Kesri became politically active at the age of 13, with his involvement in the Indian independence movement. Kesri was arrested for his political activities several times between 1930 and 1942. Kesri was a part of the famous Young Turks of Bihar Congress, during the independence movement along with Bindeshwari Dubey, Bhagwat Jha Azad, Chandrashekhar Singh, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Kedar Pandey and Abdul Ghafoor – all future Chief Ministers of Bihar. Political Career in Independent India Kesri was elected president of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee in 1973 and treasurer of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in 1980.