Yashpal Arya is a 7-time MLA from Uttar Pradesh (twice) and Uttarakhand (five times) combined.

[2] 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.

[5] 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.

[6] 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[7] to 11 October 2021 in the Trivendra Singh Rawat's, Trivendra Singh Rawat's and Pushkar Singh Dhami's first cabinet[2][8] On 11 October 2021, Arya along with his son Sanjiv Arya ( MLA, Nainital) returned to Congress.