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2 Madhya Pradesh MPs make it to Modi Cabinet

Last Updated 31 May 2019, 07:13 IST

Two BJP lawmakers from Madhya Pradesh— Narendra Singh Tomar and Thawarchand Gehlot— have retained their berths in the Narendra Modi government.

External affairs minister in the previous government, Sushma Swaraj no longer represents Madhya Pradesh as she declined to contest from Vidisha seat, which had sent her to Lok Sabha twice in the past.

Lok Sabha member from Tikamgarh Virendra Kumar, who was a minister of state in the previous cabinet, has been dropped.

Narendra Singh Tomar, who held the rural development and coal ministry, won election from Morena seat. Earlier he was elected from Gwalior to the Lok Sabha in 2014.

Born on June 12, 1957, in Morena district, Tomar completed his graduation from Gwalior. He was active in student union polities as an ABVP member.

Tomar debuted in electoral politics by winning as a corporator of the Gwalior municipal corporation on a BJP ticket in 1983. Later, he succeeded Shivraj Singh Chouhan as state BJYM president in 1988.

He was elected to the state Assembly in 1998 and again in 2003. He was a cabinet minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.

As state BJP president, Tomar played a key role in strategising the party’s spectacular victory in 2008 and 2013 Assembly elections along with Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The Tomar-Chouhan duo owes its rise in the BJP to the patronage from L K Advani.

The tallest Thakur leader in the state BJP, Tomar is known for his wide network across the state, particularly in Gwalior–Chambal.

He is not given airing opinions on any subject including the party matters unless asked by the party high command. Despite holding the key ministries, he maintained a low profile.

The most important Dalit face of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Thawarchand Gehlot is a Rajya Sabha member. He was social justice and empowerment minister in the previous Modi government.

Born on May 18, 1948, in Nagda town, Gehlot is a graduate in economics from Ujjain’s Vikram University. He represented Shajapur seat in the Lok Sabha from 1996 to 2009. He was also elected to the state Assembly.

His inclusion in the Union Cabinet is seen as giving representation to the under-privileged section of the society.

Gehlot has held several positions in state and was also head of BJP's Scheduled Castes Cell. He was also deputed as the central observer of the party for Gujarat when Narendra Modi was its chief minister.

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(Published 30 May 2019, 14:30 IST)

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