Chandresh Kumari Katoch (born 1 February 1944) is an Indian politician belonging to the

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 E ...

party. She is a former Minister of Culture in India's central government. She was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

in 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-p ...

(the lower house of parliament), representing Jodhpur constituency. Katoch was sworn in as Cabinet Minister in the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

on 28 October 2012, and was given the portfolio of the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

. She is daughter of

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

Hanwant Singh of Jodhpur and Maharani Krishna Kumari and is married into the royal family of Kangra with Raja Aditya Dev Chand Katoch, in

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

. She contested but lost in the

2014 Indian general election General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...

Positions held

*1972–77 Member,

Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly The seat of the Vidhan Sabha is at Shimla, the capital of the state. The Vidhan Sabha comprises 68 Members of Legislative Assembly, which include 68 members directly elected from single-seat constituency. Its term is 5 years, unless sooner dis ...

( from Dharamshala constituency) *1977 Deputy Minister,

Government of Himachal Pradesh The Government of Himachal Pradesh also known as the State Government of Himachal Pradesh, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It consists of an executive branch, led by th ...

*1982–84 Member, Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (second term from Dharamshala constituency) *1984 (for 9 Months) Minister of State, Tourism, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh *1984 Elected to

8th Lok Sabha The 8th Lok Sabha ran from 31 December 1984 to 27 November 1989. Politicians were elected in December 1984, taking office by the end of the month. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the bicameral Parliament of India. 9 s ...

from

Kangra (Lok Sabha constituency) Kangra Lok Sabha constituency is one of the four Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. Assembly segments Kangra Lok Sabha constituency presently comprised the following 17 Vidhan Sabha (le ...

*1996 Elected to

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 ...

*1998–1999 Deputy Chief Whip, Congress Party in Rajya Sabha *1999-03 President,

All India Mahila Congress All India Mahila Congress (AIMC), also referred to as Mahila Congress, is the women's wing of the Indian National Congress (INC). The most recent President was Sushmita Dev who left office in 2021. Currently Netta D'Souza heads the All India Mah ...

*2003–07 Member, Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (third term from Dharamshala constituency) *2003–2004 Cabinet Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh *2009 Re-elected to

15th Lok Sabha Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2009 general election in India. It was dissolved on 18 May 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee. Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won 44 more seats than the previou ...

from

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...

(2nd term) *2012 Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Cultural, Government of India.

References

People from Jodhpur India MPs 2009–2014 Living people 1944 births India MPs 1984–1989 Rajya Sabha members from Himachal Pradesh Indian National Congress politicians Women in Rajasthan politics Members of the Cabinet of India Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan Lok Sabha members from Himachal Pradesh Women in Himachal Pradesh politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Women state cabinet ministers of India Women members of the Cabinet of India Culture Ministers of India Rajput princesses Indian princesses Women members of the Lok Sabha Women members of the Rajya Sabha Himachal Pradesh MLAs 1972–1977 Himachal Pradesh MLAs 1982–1985 {{HimachalPradesh-INC-politician-stub