Kiren Rijiju returns, Rameswar Teli debuts from Assam

GUWAHATI: The newly inducted Narendra Modi cabinet has two representatives from the northeast - Kiren Rijiju from Arunachal Pradesh and Rameswar Teli from Assam, one a familiar face and the other a debutant.
Kiren Rijiju, BJP's popular face in the northeast, has found a place in the Modi cabinet for the second time in a row. The suave and articulate politician from Arunachal Pradesh is returning to the Union council of minister with an elevated rank as minister of state with independent charge.
Accompanying him on the grand oath ceremony dais was first-timer Teli, who rewrote the electoral record books by winning the Lok Sabha election by the highest ever margin in the state.He defeated Congress stalwart and former Union minister Paban Singh Ghatowar by more than 3.5 lakh votes. Both newly inducted ministers are 48 years old.
Rijiju, who won the Arunachal West constituency defeating former state chief minister Nabam Tuki of Congress, was born to Rinchin Kharu and Chirai Rijiju on November 19, 1971 in West Kameng district of the state.
The Arunachal politician is an alumnus of Hansraj College in Delhi and has a law degree from the University of Delhi. He is married to Joram Rina, a graduate of Delhi's Lady Shri Ram College, who is currently employed as an OSD in in Arunachal Pradesh education department.
Rijiju first contested in the 2004 Lok Sabha election from Arunachal West constituency. He again lost in 2009 by a small margin of 1,314 votes, but returned to win the seat in 2014 by defeating Congress candidate Takam Sanjoy. The outspoken. He served as a member of Khadi and Village Industries Commission from 2000 to 2005 at very young age of 29. Rijiju is also a known as a fitness freak.
On the other hand Teli, a bachelor, was born on August 14, 1970 to Budhu Teli and Dukia Teli at Dulijan in Dibrugarh district. He made his electoral debut in 2001, when he was elected to the Assam legislative assembly and won again in 2006 from Duliajan constituency. He lost the seat in 2011 elections and was nominated for Lok Sabha election in 2014, which he won. Earlier in his life, Teli was the chief organizing secretary of Assam Tea Tribes Students Association.
Meanwhile, political analysts believe that Ghatowar's second successive defeat to Teli might well have brought down the curtains on his eventful political career which spans over nearly three decades.