Kiran Chaudhary
Daughter of a war veteran Brigadier Atma Singh from Kumaon Regiment of Indian Army, Kiran Choudhry, is a public spirited Congress leader from Haryana. She rose through the ranks of the party to become Minister for Excise, Taxation and Public Health and Engineering in her State.
With nearly three decades of public life now behind her, she counts on the late Rajiv Gandhi the most for inspiring her to take a plunge into politics. This was way back in 1986 when she joined the women's wing of the party or All India Mahila Congress as a joint-secretary. Ever since she never looked back and successfully contested Delhi Assembly elections in 1998 from Delhi Cantonment. She was elected Deputy Speaker of the House unopposed. She held the post until the end of the term of the Assembly in 2003.
But two years later she was struck by the tragic death of her husband, the late Surender Singh, in a helicopter crash. Son of the former Haryana Chief Minister and India's former Defence Minister ''Bansi Lal" and thus scion of State's main political family, Singh was Minister for Agriculture in Haryana in his own right at the time of his tragic end. Soon his mantle fell on her. She won from Tosham constituency and has since then served the land.
She is yet recognized in Hayana as Bansilal's daughter in law.
