# Yashpal Arya

Yashpal Arya is a 7-time MLA from Uttar Pradesh (twice) and Uttarakhand (five times) combined. He is a former Minister of Transportation, Social Welfare, Minority and Students' Welfare in the Government of Uttarakhand under Bharatiya Janata Party's rule. 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. He was elected from Mukteshwar constituency in the 2007 Uttarakhand state assembly elections.
He was the President of the Congress Party's Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (Uttarakhand PCC) from 2007 through 2014. 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 made Vijay Bahuguna, son of former Uttar Pradesh CM late Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna swear into the post.
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 to 11 October 2021 in the Trivendra Singh Rawat's, Trivendra Singh Rawat's and Pushkar Singh Dhami's first cabinet
On 11 October 2021, Arya along with his son Sanjiv Arya ( MLA, Nainital) returned to Congress. In the Uttarakhand Assembly Elections 2022, he won Bajpur seat again but this time as an INC candidate, after which he was appointed the Leader of Opposition in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.

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