Sitaram Kesri (15 November 1919 – 24 October 2000) was an Indian politician and parliamentarian. He became a union minister and served as President of the Indian National Congress from 1996 to 1998. Political career Pre-Independence Politics Kesri became politically active at the age of 13, with his involvement in the Indian independence movement. Kesri was arrested for his political activities several times between 1930 and 1942. Kesri was a part of the famous Young Turks of Bihar Congress during the independence movement along with Bindeshwari Dubey, Bhagwat Jha Azad, Chandrashekhar Singh, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Kedar Pandey and Abdul Ghafoor – all future Chief Ministers of Bihar. Political Career in Independent India Kesri was elected president of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee in 1973 and treasurer of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in 1980. Kesri was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Katihar Lok Sabha Constituency in 1967 as a candidate of Congress party. He represented Bihar in the Rajya Sabha for five terms between July 1971 and April 2000, being reelected in April 1974, July 1980, April 1988, and April 1994. He was Union Minister during the regimes of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao as Prime Minister of India. Kesri served as treasurer of the Congress party for more than a decade. In addition, he was elected unanimously as President of the Congress Parliamentary Party on 3 January 1997. After his exit from office in March 1998, he maintained a relatively low profile in politics. He was also denied party candidature for the Rajya Sabha once his last term ended in April 2000. As the President of the Indian National Congress After P.V. Narasimha Rao stepped down as president of the Congress in September 1996, Kesri was appointed as the new president of the Indian National Congress. The following years were difficult for the Congress Party. Kesri's lack of popular support among the masses caused further damage to the party. Kesri's most controversial act was the sudden withdrawal of support to H.D. Deva Gowda's United Front government, which led to the fall of the government in April 1997. However, a compromise was reached and the United Front elected I.K. Gujral as the subsequent new leader with continued support from the Congress party. In the first week of November 1997, part of the Jain Commission's report inquiring into the conspiracy angle of the assassination of