B. Janardhana Poojary (born 27 April 1937) is a senior politician from

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

party. He was a former Union Minister and

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

's Congress President. During the Prime Ministership of Smt. Indira Gandhi he had been appointed Union Minister of State for Finance in 1982 and he continued to be Union Minister of State for Finance during the tenure of

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

until 1987. Later Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi appointed Shree B. Janardhana Poojary as Union Minister of State for Rural Development from 1987 to 1989. Shree Rajiv Gandhi also appointed Shree B. Janardhana Poojary as General Secretary of

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...

in 1990 as well as President of

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (or Karnataka PCC) is the unit of the Indian National Congress for the state of Karnataka. Its head office is situated at the ''Congress Bhawan'', Queens Road, Bangalore. Electoral performance Karnataka L ...

in 1990. He continued to be General Secretary of

during the tenure of Prime Minister Shree P. V. Narasimha Rao up to 1996. After Shree Rajiv Gandhi his wife

President (AICC President) &

United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...

(UPA) Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi also appointed Shree B. Janardhana Poojary as President of

in 2003 for the second time. He continued as President of

up to 2005.

Early life

Janardhana Poojary was born to an ethnic Billava family in

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

and his mother-tongue is

Tulu Tulu may refer to: People *Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...

.Rajya Sabha Member biographical sketch
/ref>

Career

Prior to entering politics, Janardhana Poojary practiced law as a barrister from 1960 to 1979. As a lawyer, he was actively engaged in safeguarding the interests of poor agricultural tenants and defended a large number of poor people by giving them free legal aid. He was elected to the

6th Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India. The 6th Lok Sabha, which ran from 23 March 1977 to 22 August 1979 was elected in February and March 1977. 11 sitting members from Rajya Sabha were elected to 6t ...

in 1977 from Mangalore constituency in

. He was re-elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

in 1980, 1984 and 1989 from the same constituency. He was a Central (Union) Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Finance from 1982-84. From 1984 to '87 he was the Central (Union) Minister of State for Finance. He was the Central Minister of State for Rural Development in 1988-89. He was defeated by V. Dhananjay Kumar during 1991 Lokhsabha election. Despite his best efforts he was defeated by BJP candidates in successive elections. In April 1994, he was elected to the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, the upper house of the

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

– a position he held until May 2008. He was responsible for the construction of several colleges, schools and temples, including the Gokarnanatheshwara Temple (Kudroli Temple) in Mangalore. He also took active part in construction of

Dharmasthala Dharmasthala (earlier known as Kuduma) is an Indian temple town on the banks of the Nethravathi River in the Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, India. The town is known for its centuries old Dharmasthala Tem ...

Kanyadi Shree Raam Mandir. He also took initiative in the renovation of Kankanady Shree Brahma Baiderkala Garodi Temple & Katpady Shree Vishwanatha Temple. Under his leadership many temples, Garodi temples, Narayana Guru mandira have been constructed across

Tulunadu Tulunad or Tulu Nadu, also called Bermere sristi or Parashurama Srishti, is a region and a proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (plural 'Tuluver'), speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, are ...

which comprises

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

Chikmagalur Chikmagalur, known officially as Chikkamagaluru, is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri peak of the Western Ghats, the city attracts tourists from ...

Karwar Karwar is a seaside city, ''taluka'', and administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district lying at the mouth of the Kali river on the Kanara coast of Karnataka state, India. Karwar is a popular tourist destination and with a city urba ...

and

Kasargod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and ...

. During his tenure as Central (Union) Minister of State for Finance, he organized credit camps (Loan Melas) to give assistance to the weaker sections of the society. The politicisation of bank credit policies, led to the creation of significant non-performing assets on the books of public sector banks. The loan disbursal was also undertaken in violation of prescribed

Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for ...

norms. He has brought several projects not only to Mangalore but for entire Karnataka. Some of the projects are Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL), Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), Upgrading Mangalore Domestic (National) Airport to

Mangalore International Airport Mangalore International Airport , is an international airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore, India. It is one of the only two international airports in Karnataka, the other being Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore. Mangalore ...

, Upgrading Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC) to National Institute Of Technology (NITK), extension of New Mangalore Port (NMPT), railway projects like Bangalore/Mangalore Day & Night Train, Four Lane Highway Projects of about 60 km from

Bantwal Bantwal () is a taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India. It is located East of Mangalore city center. BC Road-Kaikamba of Bantwal is one of the fastest developing areas in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Along with BC ...

Surathkal Surathkal is one of the major localities in the northern part of Mangalore city located on NH-17, National highway 66 (previously as NH-17) in the Dakshina Kannada, Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka state, India on the shore of Arabian sea. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poojary, Janardhana Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka Mangaloreans Politicians from Mangalore 1937 births Living people Tulu politicians India MPs 1977–1979 India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1989–1991 Lok Sabha members from Karnataka