{{Short description|Indian politician (1958–2020)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Kamal Rani Varun | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1958|05|3|df=y}} | birth_place = Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India | death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|8|2|1958|5|3|df=y}} | death_place = Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India | office = Minister of Technical Education<br>Government of Uttar Pradesh | 1blankname = Chief Minister | 1namedata = Yogi Adityanath | term_start = 21 August 2019 | term_end = 2 August 2020 | predecessor = Ashutosh Tandon | successor = Jitin Prasada | constituency1 = Ghatampur | constituency2 = Ghatampur | office1 = Member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly | term_start1 = 2017 | office2 = Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | term_start2 = 1996 | term_end2 = 1999 | predecessor2 = Keshari Lal Kureel | successor2 = Pyare Lal Sankhwar | predecessor1 = Indrajeet Kori | successor1 = Upendra Nath Paswan | party = Bharatiya Janata Party | spouse = Kishan Lal Varun | children = One daughter | website = | footnotes = | date = | year = | source = http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lok12/biodata/12up63.htm | term_end1 = 2020 }}
'''Kamal Rani Varun''' (3 May 1958{{spnd}}2 August 2020) was an Indian politician and Cabinet Minister in the Government of Uttar Pradesh. She was member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. She was also a member of Eleventh and Twelfth Lok Sabha.<ref name=loksabha>{{cite web|title=Tracking the political journey of UP minister Kamal Rani Varun, who died of Covid-19|date=2 August 2020 |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/tracking-the-political-journey-of-up-minister-kamal-rani-varun-who-died-of-covid-19/story-m2rfd5RInB7ZyB94DqKcbI.html|publisher=Hindustan Times|accessdate=3 August 2020}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Rani was born on 3 May 1958 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and married Kishan Lal Varun, a volunteer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, on 25 May 1975. She gave birth to a daughter and completed her M.A. in sociology at Kanpur University.<ref name=career/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/uttar-pradesh-minister-kamal-rani-varun-dies-due-to-covid-19-cm-yogi-adityanath-condoles-her-demise|title=Uttar Pradesh minister Kamal Rani Varun dies due to COVID-19, CM Yogi Adityanath condoles her demise|publisher=Free Press Journal|accessdate=3 August 2020}}</ref>
==Career== In 1989, Kamal Rani was selected by the Bharatiya Janata Party to contest from the Dwarkapuri ward of Kanpur in the municipal elections and was elected as a councillor for Kanpur Municipal Corporation. She was victorious again in 1995 and in 1996, BJP selected her to contest from the Ghatampur parliamentary constituency. She was victorious and was re-elected in the 1998 Indian general election. However, she lost to Pyare Lal Sankhwar in 1999 by 585 votes. During her tenure as a Member of Parliament, she served on advisory committees regarding labour, welfare, industry, women empowerment, official language and tourism departments.<ref name=career>{{cite web|title=UP Cabinet Minister Kamal Rani Varun, Admitted to Hospital With Covid-19, Passes Away|date=2 August 2020 |url=https://www.news18.com/news/politics/up-cabinet-minister-kamal-rani-varun-admitted-to-hospital-with-covid-19-passes-away-2751103.html|publisher=News 18|accessdate=3 August 2020}}</ref>
Kamal Rani unsuccessfully contested the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election from the Rasulabad constituency,<ref name=career/> but was elected from the Ghatampur assembly constituency in the 2017 elections with 48.52% votes. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inducted her into the state's council of ministers on 21 August 2019. She became the only woman minister in the state since Rita Bahuguna Joshi had resigned after winning in the 2019 Indian general election.<ref name=loksabha/>
==Death== Minister Kamal Rani had tested positive for COVID-19 on 18 July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in India and was admitted to a hospital.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yogi Adityanath's Ayodhya visit cancelled after minister Kamal Rani Varun's death |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/yogi-adityanath-s-ayodhya-visit-cancelled-after-minister-kamal-rani-varun-s-death/story-cpPZ64RRfVfworOYi2PAhL.html|website=Hindustan Times |date=2 August 2020 |accessdate=2 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref> She also suffered from diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroidism and double pneumonia.<ref name=ndtvkamalrani>{{cite web |title=UP Minister Kamal Rani Varun Dies From COVID-19 Two Weeks After Being Hospitalised |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/up-minister-kamal-rani-varun-dies-was-admitted-to-lucknow-hospital-last-month-due-to-covid-19-2272815 |website=NDTV |accessdate=3 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref> She died at 9:30 a.m. on 2 August at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, due to complications brought on by the disease. She was aged 62 at the time of her death and was survived by her daughter.<ref>{{cite news |title=COVID-19: Uttar Pradesh Minister Kamla Rani Varun dies at 62 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/covid-19-uttar-pradesh-minister-kamla-rani-varun-dies-at-62/article32252225.ece |website=The Hindu |date=2 August 2020 |accessdate=2 August 2020 |language=en|last1=Rashid |first1=Omar }}</ref>
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences for her demise and cancelled his scheduled visit to Ayodhya to check preparations for the bhumi pujan of Ram Mandir. The national flag was ordered to be flown at half-mast in her honour by the state government of Uttar Pradesh.<ref>{{cite web |title=Uttar Pradesh minister Kamal Rani Varun dies of coronavirus |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/uttar-pradesh-minister-kamal-rani-varun-dies-of-coronavirus-6535264/ |website=Indian Express |date=2 August 2020 |accessdate=3 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref> President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed condolences.<ref name=ndtvkamalrani/> A day of mourning for her was declared by the state government on 2 August and her funeral was performed at the Bhairo Ghat in Kanpur, with a guard of honour present.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yogi's visit to Ayodhya called off as minister dies of Covid-19 |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/yogi-s-visit-to-ayodhya-called-off-as-minister-dies-of-covid-19/story-t7Zk9uMa7vbDWro9OiLA8L.html |website=Hindustan Times |date=2 August 2020 |accessdate=7 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Bharatiya Janata Party}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varun, Kamal Rani}} Category:India MPs 1996–1997 Category:India MPs 1998–1999 Category:Uttar Pradesh MLAs 2017–2022 Category:1958 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Women in Uttar Pradesh politics Category:Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh Category:Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh Category:20th-century Indian women politicians Category:Politicians from Lucknow Category:People from Kanpur Dehat district Category:State cabinet ministers of Uttar Pradesh Category:Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University alumni Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India Category:21st-century Indian women politicians Category:Women members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Category:Women members of the Lok Sabha Category:Women state cabinet ministers of India