Yashpal Arya

Yashpal Arya is a 7-time MLA from Uttar Pradesh (twice) and Uttarakhand (five times) combined.^[1] He is a former Minister of Transportation, Social Welfare, Minority and Students' Welfare in the Government of Uttarakhand under Bharatiya Janata Party's rule.^[2] Currently, he is an Indian National Congress leader and member of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. He is a former Speaker of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly under Indian National Congress' rule.^[3][4] He was elected from Mukteshwar constituency in the 2007 Uttarakhand state assembly elections.

Yashpal Arya
7th Leader of Opposition Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 April 2022
Deputy	Bhuwan Chandra Kapri
Preceded by	Pritam Singh
Member of Legislative Assembly, Uttarakhand
Incumbent
Assumed office 2012
Preceded by	Arvind Pandey
Constituency	Bajpur
In office 2002–2012
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Constituency	Mukteshwar
Speaker of Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
In office 2002 - 2007
Preceded by	Prakash Pant
Succeeded by	Harbans Kapoor
Member of Legislative Assembly, Uttar Pradesh
In office 1993–1996
In office 1989–1991
Constituency	Khatima
Personal details
Born	(1952-01-08) 8 January 1952 (age 73)
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Indian National Congress (until 2017, 2021–present)
Other political affiliations	Bharatiya Janata Party (2017–2021)
Children	Sanjeev Arya
Residence(s)	Dehradun, Khatima, Bajpur, New Delhi

He was the President of the Congress Party's Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (Uttarakhand PCC) from 2007 through 2014.^[5] He was elected from Bajpur Assembly constituency in 2012 and was being thought to be one of the frontrunners for the chief ministerial candidature until the Congress high command chose Vijay Bahuguna, son of former Uttar Pradesh CM late Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, for the post. ^[6]

On 16 January 2017, Arya joined the Bharatiya Janata Party where he served as the Cabinet Minister of Transportation, Social Welfare, Minority and Students' Welfare, Government of Uttarakhand from 18 March 2017^[7] to 11 October 2021 in the Trivendra Singh Rawat's, Tirath Singh Rawat's and Pushkar Singh Dhami's first cabinet.^[2][8]

On 11 October 2021, Arya along with his son Sanjiv Arya (MLA, Nainital) returned to Congress.^[9] In the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly Elections, he won the Bajpur seat again but this time as an INC candidate, after which he was appointed the Leader of Opposition in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.^[10][11]

Positions held

Year	Description
1984 - 1989	Gram Pradhan - Chhalayal Suyal Gram Panchayat, Haldwani
1989 - 1991	Elected to 10th Uttar Pradesh Assembly
1993 - 1996	Elected to 12th Uttar Pradesh Assembly (2nd term)
2002 - 2007	Elected to 1st Uttarakhand Assembly (3rd term) Speaker - Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
2007 - 2012	Elected to 2nd Uttarakhand Assembly (4th term) Member, Committee on Government Assurances (2009 – 12) Member, Committee on Housing (2010 – 12)
2012 - 2017	Elected to 3rd Uttarakhand Assembly (5th term) Cabinet Minister for Revenue and Land Management, Irrigation, Flood Control, Co-operatives, Technical Education, Rural Engineering Services, Rural Roads and Drainage, Indo-Nepal-Uttarakhand River Projects
2017 - 2022	Elected to 4th Uttarakhand Assembly (6th term) Cabinet Minister for Transportation, Social Welfare, Minority Welfare, Students Welfare, Rural Water Reservoirs Development, Remote Areas Development, Sub-Divisional Development and Management, Backward Areas Development
2022 - Till Date	Elected to 5th Uttarakhand Assembly (7th term) Leader of Opposition - Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly

Within Party

Year	Description
1979 - 1983	Block President, Nainital Youth Congress
1983 - 1984	District General Secretary, Nainital Youth Congress
1984 - 1989	District President, Nainital Youth Congress
1996 - 2000	President, Udham Singh Nagar District Congress Committee
2007 - 2014	President, Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee

Electoral performance

Year	Election	Party		Constituency Name	Result	Votes gained	Vote share%	Margin	Ref
1989	10th UP Assembly		INC	Khatima	Won	38,785	40.42%	14,793	[12]
1991	11th UP Assembly				Lost	29,211	32.11%	1,755	[13]
1993	12th UP Assembly				Won	49,487	42.01%	8,787	[14]
1996	13th UP Assembly		AIIC(T)		Lost	35,120	21.46%	21,329	[15]
2002	1st Uttarakhand Assembly		INC	Mukteshwar	Won	13,531	37.70%	1,424	[16]
2007	2nd Uttarakhand Assembly				Won	26,801	58.24%	10,984
2012	3rd Uttarakhand Assembly			Bajpur	Won	38524	45.94%	15,131	[17]
2017	4th Uttarakhand Assembly		BJP		Won	54,965	53.22%	12,636
2022	5th Uttarakhand Assembly		INC		Won	40,252	36.76%	1,611