The rise of Savitri, the chairperson of the OP Jidal Group, as a politician and a business magnate is an inspiring tale. She took charge of the Jindal conglomerate after the death of her husband Om Prakash Jindal, who had won the Hisar Assembly seat in Haryana three times -- in 1991, 2000 and 2005. He had also served as a minister in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government till his death in a helicopter crash in 2005.

Savitri also embarked on the political journey following her husband's path and she won the Hissar Assembly seat in 2005 and 2009 on Congress tickets. However, she lost the seat in 2014 to BJP's Kamal Gupta who retained the seat in 2019.

Born into a Marwari family in Tinsukia in Assam, Savitri was married to OP Jindal in 1970. She served as a minister in the Haryana government in 2013 and eventually parted ways with Congress in March.

Savitri joined the BJP and campaigned for her son Naveen Jindal, who was the BJP candidate for the Kurukshetra constituency in Haryana in the last Lok Sabha elections. She had also campaigned for the BJP candidate in Hisar Lok Sabha seat.

Independent candidate Savitri Jindal with her son and businessman Naveen Jindal during celebrations after her victory from Hisar constituency in the Haryana Assembly elections, in Hisar. Photo: PTI
Independent candidate Savitri Jindal with her son and businessman Naveen Jindal during celebrations after her victory from Hisar constituency in the Haryana Assembly elections, in Hisar. Photo: PTI

However, she was dejected after she was overlooked by the BJP state leadership for Kamal Gupta for Hisar Assembly seat.

Savitry decided to go it alone and her victory with a good margin has unsettled bigwigs in the BJP camp. She polled 49,231 votes while her nearest rival Ram Niwas Rana of the Congress could grab only 30,290 votes.

According to Forbes, Savitri Jindal’s personal wealth is estimated to be Rs 3.65 lakh crore making her the richest woman in India. As per the Bloomberg Billionnaires' index as on September 8, 2024, Savitri is the fifth richest Indian with a net worth of $36.3 billion. JSW Steel, Power, Cement and Infrastructure Holdings contribute to her immense fortune.

Savitr's leadership has been inspiring and widely recognised. She is the world’s 50th richest person and the seventh richest mother. Her philanthropic endeavours and contribution to the charity works her husband had started earned her several accolades.

Savitri's connect with the people of Hisar is very deep. Before the election, she stated that she had been serving the public 'for the past 20 years' and urged the people of Hisar to give her one more chance to complete unfinished work.

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