Motilal Vora

Motilal Vora MP
Motilal Vora in 1989
Governor of Uttar Pradesh
In office 26 May 1993 – 3 May 1996
President	Shankar Dayal Sharma
Preceded by	B. Satya Narayan Reddy
Succeeded by	Mohammad Shafi Qureshi
Minister of Health and Family Welfare
In office 14 February 1988 – 24 January 1989
Prime Minister	Rajiv Gandhi
Preceded by	Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao
Succeeded by	Ram Niwas Mirdha
Minister of Civil Aviation
In office 14 February 1988 – 25 June 1988
Prime Minister	Rajiv Gandhi
Preceded by	Jagdish Tytler
Succeeded by	Shivraj Patil
13th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
In office 25 January 1989 – 8 December 1989
Preceded by	Arjun Singh
Succeeded by	Shyama Charan Shukla
In office 13 March 1985 – 13 February 1988
Preceded by	Arjun Singh
Succeeded by	Arjun Singh
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 10 April 2002 – 9 April 2020
Succeeded by	Phulo Devi Netam
Constituency	Chhattisgarh
In office 3 April 1988 – 8 March 1989
Constituency	Madhya Pradesh
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1998 (1998)–1999 (1999)
Preceded by	Ashok Sharma
Succeeded by	Raman Singh
Constituency	Rajnandgaon
Member of Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
In office 1972 (1972)–1988 (1988)
Preceded by	R Jha
Succeeded by	Himself
Constituency	Durg
In office 1989 (1989)–1992 (1992)
Preceded by	Himself
Succeeded by	Arun Vora
Constituency	Durg
Personal details
Born	(1928-12-20)20 December 1928 Nimbi Jodhan, Jodhpur State, British India (present-day Nagaur District, Rajasthan, India)
Died	21 December 2020(2020-12-21) (aged 92) New Delhi, India
Cause of death	COVID infection
Spouse	Shanti Devi Vora
Children	Four daughters, two sons
Residence(s)	Mohan Nagar, Durg, Chhattisgarh
Occupation	Politics
Profession	Journalist, politician and social worker

Motilal Vora (20 December 1928 – 21 December 2020) was an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress (INC).

He served as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh (1985–1988; 1989). He was born in Nimbi Jodha, Jodhpur State, British India. He was also Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 1993 to 1996.

Early life

Vora was born on 20 December 1928 at Nimbi Jodha in Jodhpur State of British India's Rajputana Agency (present-day Nagaur district, Rajasthan) to a Pushkarna Brahmin family. His parents were Mohanlal Vora and Amba Bai. His forefathers came from Nimbi Jodha, and prior to that from Phalodi. He received his education at Raipur and Kolkata. He had also worked with several newspapers for many years. He married Shanti Devi Vora. The couple have four daughters and two sons. His son Arun Vora is an MLA from Durg (CG), having won three elections as MLA. His brother Govindlal Vora was Veteran Journalist and Chief Editor of Amrit Sandesh. His nephew Rajeev Vora is Secretary of Pragati College of Engineering and Management, Raipur.

State politics

In 1968, Vora, then, a member of Samajwadi party, became a member of the Municipal Committee of Durg (then part of Madhya Pradesh). In 1970 (approximately), he, with the help of Prabhat Tiwari, was introduced to Pt. Kishorilal Shukla of INC and joined INC. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) of Madhya Pradesh in 1972 on an INC ticket. He was elected to Vidhan Sabha again in 1977 and 1980. He was appointed a minister of State in Arjun Singh's Cabinet, and was in-charge of the Higher Education Department. He was elevated to the Cabinet Minister in 1983. He also served as the Deputy Chairman of Madhya Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation during 1981–84.

On 13 March 1985, Vora was appointed Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. He resigned from the post of Chief Minister on 13 February 1988, to join the Union Government.

National politics

On 14 February 1988, Vora became a member of the Rajya Sabha, and assumed the office of Union Minister of Health, Family Welfare and Civil Aviation. He was a cabinet minister in Government of India. He was appointed Governor of Uttar Pradesh on 16 May 1993 and held office until 3 May 1996. Motilal Vora was in 1998–99 Member of the 12th Lok Sabha.

Role in the Indian National Congress

Vora was very close to High Command of INC, and has supported nomination of Rahul Gandhi as the party's Prime Ministerial candidate. In the 1980s, he served as the President of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, the party's state unit.

Vora held important positions in all the three entities involved in the National Herald Case: the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the Young Indian and the All India Congress Committee (AICC). He became the chairman and managing director of AJL on 22 March 2002. He served as the AICC treasurer before that. He was a 12% shareholder and a Director of Young Indian.

Death

Vora died from complications from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, one day after his 92nd birthday.