Bhagwat Dayal Sharma

Pt. Bhagwat Dayal Sharma
1st Chief Minister of Haryana
In office 1 November 1966 - 23 March 1967
Preceded by	New Post
Succeeded by	Rao Birender Singh
Personal details
Born	26 January 1918 Beri, Punjab, India
Died	22 February 1993
Political party	Indian National Congress

Pt. Bhagwat Dayal Sharma (1918–1993), popularly known as Panditji, was the first Chief Minister of the Indian state of Haryana and later Governor of Odisha and Madhya Pradesh from 30 April 1980 to 14 May 1984.

He was born in Beri, a town in the Jhajjar district of Haryana on 26 January 1918. Bansi Lal, Bhajan Lal and many other noted politicians learned politics under his guidance.

Panditji married Savitri Devi and they had six children; three sons and three daughters. He was educated at Banaras Hindu University, Banaras. His eldest son Sh. Rajesh Sharma became Sports Minister of Haryana and Deputy Chairman of the State's Planning Board. After his wife Savitri's death, Panditji built "Savitri Nikunj", in her memory, an exotic garden with indigenous and rare plants and trees at Raj Bhawan in Bhopal.

Sharma became Chief Minister of Haryana on 10 March 1967 then resigned to be replaced by Rao Birender Singh on 24 March 1967.

Appointed Governor of Odisha in 1977, during his time in the state, he became patron of many social and cultural institutions. To develop tourism in Odisha, he suggested that the summer Raj Bhavan at Puri should be converted to a high class hotel for international tourists with facilities for golf, swimming and tennis as well as a large hall for holding conferences. The Indian Tourist Development Corporation (ITDC) was subsequently asked to take up the venture. Sharma was also actively involved in the administrative committee of the Hindu Jagannath temple in Puri.

He subsequently transferred to Madhya Pradesh since the Odisha climate did not suit his health.

During his career, Panditji travelled to Switzerland, the UK, the USSR, Germany, USA, and a number of other European countries

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