Sanjay Gandhi used to call him New Delhi Tiwari because he seldom
found him in Lucknow when he was the chief minister. Till a very recent
stage in Indian politics, Narayan Datt Tiwari, was considered as an alternative
Prime Minister of the country even when Rajiv Gandhi was very much around.
But an upsetting loss in the 1991 elections from his home territory in
the U.P. hills and later his decision to form a parallel Congress
unit - Indian Congress Tiwari - sent him into political oblivion.
Known to represent the old school of Indian politics, 74-year-old Tiwari, who has apart from being chief minister of U.P.on four occasions has held key ministries of the country like Foreign Affairs, Finance, Commerce and Industry, seems to be trying his luck all over again. After a long time Tiwari is back in the Lok Sabha by winning the Naini Tal seat, which he lost in 1998 and 1996. But his political future looks as bleak as that of the party he represents.