In a major setback to the Congress Party in Haryana, former state minister and India's wealthiest woman resigned from the grand old party on Wednesday ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Savitri's resignation came days after her son and Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) chairman Naveen Jindal joined the BJP. The BJP has fielded Naveen from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat for the upcoming elections.
Savitri announced her resignation on social media on Wednesday. Taking to X, the former Haryana minister wrote, "As an MLA, I have represented the people of Hisar for 10 years and served selflessly as a minister for the state of Haryana. The people of Hisar are my family, and today, based on my family's advice, I am resigning from the primary membership of the Congress party. I will always be grateful to all colleagues who have consistently supported me and bestowed me with their cooperation and respect in support of the Congress leadership."
Political Career
Savitri Jindal represented the Hisar constituency for a decade and also held a ministerial position in the Haryana government. Following the passing of her husband and Jindal Group founder OP Jindal in a plane crash, she was elected to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha from the Hisar constituency in 2005.
She secured re-election from Hisar in 2009 and assumed the role of cabinet minister in the Haryana government in October 2013. In her previous tenure, she served as the Minister of State for Revenue and Disaster Management, Consolidation, Rehabilitation, and Housing, as well as the Minister of State for Urban Local Bodies and Housing in 2006.
However, she faced defeat in the Hisar constituency during the 2014 Haryana assembly elections.
Wealth
Recognized as among India's wealthiest women, the seventy-something head of the Jindal Group has amassed a net worth of $29.6 billion as of March 28, 2024, as reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. She holds the 56th position among the world's richest individuals and ranks as the seventh wealthiest mother globally. Apart from her role as chairperson emerita of the OP Jindal Group, Savitri Jindal serves as the president of Maharaja Agrasen College, Agroha.
