Ashok Tanwar


Ashok Tanwar is an Indian politician, former President of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, Member of Parliament from Sirsa and Secretary, All India Congress Committee. He was also a former president of Indian Youth Congress and NSUI. He was the youngest person to become the president of Indian Youth Congress.

Early life

He was born in a Jatav caste to a family of farmer in Chimni, Jhajjar district, Haryana to Dilbag Singh and Krishna Rathi.
He did his BA from the Kakatiya University, Warangal. He went to Jawaharlal Nehru University's centre for Historical studies and completed his M.A., M.Phil and PhD.

Political career

Tanwar started his career as an activist of the NSUI in JNU.

Youth politics

Tanwar rose to prominence when he won the election for the president of student union of JNU. He became NSUI's secretary in 1999 and its president in 2003. Under his leadership, the NSUI won two elections in the Delhi University Students' Union since he took over in 2003 and improved its performance in the Left dominated JNU.
During Ashok Tanwar's term as president, the Indian Youth Congress tried to strengthen its network at block, district and state level through workshops, seminars, street plays and social work related to the public issues.

Lok Sabha elections

In 2009 he won the Lok Sabha elections from Sirsa in Haryana as a Congress party's candidate with a margin of 35499 votes. However he lost the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as Congress Party's candidate to Charanjeet Singh Rori of Indian National Lok Dal.

President of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee

He became the president of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee on 14 February 2014. He was succeeded by Selja Kumari as party president on 4 September 2019. He quit from the Indian National Congress on 5 October 2019.

Personal life

In June 2005, Ashok Tanwar married Avantika Maken, daughter of Lalit Maken and maternal grand daughter of former Indian President, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma. They have three children.