H. K. L. Bhagat

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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 reigned 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. Throughout his career in politics, Bhagat held several different ministerial roles. 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]

Career

Born in West Punjab, British India (now Pakistan), Bhagat moved to Delhi in 1947 following partition and quickly became active in the politics of the area. A strong Indira Gandhi loyalist, and strong leader in Delhi in the 1970s and 1980s,^[2] Bhagat won six consecutive elections by large margins, and was responsible for a Congress comeback in the 1980 and 1983 elections in Delhi.^[2] He was known to have a strong group in the Congress Party, and won his first Lok Sabha election in 1971 from the East Delhi constituency in Delhi. He grew in political stature after Congress' victory in the local elections of 1983 which led him to be known as the ‘Uncrowned King of Delhi’ for many a years. He held ministerial positions, including of Information and Broadcasting, Parliamentary Affairs and Law, and made the state-run TV "Doordarshan" the Congress party's mouthpiece during the mid to late 1980s.^[3]

Bhagat's career declined after losing from East Delhi in 1991. Towards the end of his political career, he was named by the Nanavati Commission for an alleged involvement in the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots.^[2] The commission did not recommend any action against Bhagat when it was published in 2005, due to his acquittal in other court cases and his poor health at the time. Based on the recommendation of the Nanavati Commission, the government ultimately declined to prosecute Bhagat because of his poor health by that time and in which he died 8 months later. According to the Nanavati Commission, Bhagat and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, P.G. Gavai, visited areas affected by violence for about 2 and a half hours on 2 November 1984. During the riots, a local councilor in Delhi and 5 other persons visited the residence of Bhagat, raising their concerns of the violence. Bhagat allegedly told them he was making efforts to provide compensation to victims of the riots in Trilokpuri and asked for affidavits by them to declare him innocent along with other Congress leaders.^[2] He was acquitted by the courts in both cases citing lack of evidence as many witnesses including his security personnel testifying that Bhagat was next to late PM Indira Gandhi's body for 3 days and did not leave her premises. The then Lieutenant Governor of Delhi also testified to Nanavati commission that HKL Bhagat called him multiple times asking for the Army to be brought in.

Bhagat's alleged role in the riots made him a target for Sikh Militants, and was on a hit list of Sikh assassins Sukhdev Singh Sukha and Harjinder Singh Jinda.^[4]

In the 1984 election, Bhagat won the East Delhi district once again, this time with 73% of the vote: the second largest victory in the country. Another victory was scored by him in 1989, but the emergence of numerous local and national political had resulted in Bhagat and the Congress vote being wrested by other parties, decreasing his vote share. He ran for a final time in 1991, but the fallout of reports over his actions in the 1984 riots, as well as a general decline of the Congress party post-Gandhi had seen Bhagat defeated, after 11 years of direct rule, and 17 non-continuous years of power as a MP for East Delhi alone.

Bhagat began to suffer from a decline in health following his leave from Congress in 1997. Bhagat died in a hospital after prolonged illness and he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He is survived by his son, DPCC gen secretary Deepak Bhagat.