Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (born 3 October 1967)[2] is an Indian politician who is serving as Minister of Culture and Minister of Tourism since 2024.[3] He is a member of parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) representing Jodhpur in the Lok Sabha.[4]
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat | |
|---|---|
Shekhawat in August 2024 | |
| 13th Union Minister of Culture | |
| Assumed office 11 June 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | G. Kishan Reddy |
| 34th Union Minister of Tourism | |
| Assumed office 11 June 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | G. Kishan Reddy |
| Union Minister of Jal Shakti | |
| In office 30 May 2019 – 11 June 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Succeeded by | C. R. Patil |
| Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare | |
| In office 3 September 2017 – 30 May 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Radha Mohan Singh |
| Preceded by | S. S. Ahluwalia |
| Succeeded by | Kailash Choudhary |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 16 May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Chandresh Kumari Katoch |
| Constituency | Jodhpur, Rajasthan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 October 1967[1] Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse |
Nonand Kanwar (m. 1993) |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | New Delhi, Delhi, India |
| Education | Jai Narain Vyas University (M.A. & M. Phil.) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Early life and education
editShekhawat was born in Jaisalmer in the Indian state of Rajasthan. His father, Shankar Singh Shekhawat, was a senior government officer in the public health department and travelled on frequent assignments across the stateted at several different schools. He received a Master of Arts and master of philosophy from Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur.[5][6]
Political career
editShekhawat began his political career in student politics when in 1992 he was elected as president of the Student Union at JNVU University, gaining more votes than any other previous Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad supporter.[5] Shekhawat was appointed National General Secretary of the BJP Kisan Morcha, the farmers wing of the Bharatiya Janta Party.[7] He was also a member of the Rajasthan State Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party.[1]
He was elected as a member of parliament to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014, with the highest ever winning margin (4,10,051 votes) from the constituency of Jodhpur. One of his major achievements during his tenure as an MP has been the expansion of the Jodhpur Airport, a demand that had continuously been raised during the last 18 years.[citation needed]
Known for his use of social media, Shekhawat is the most followed Indian politician on Quora.[8] His Quora profile has more than 83,749 followers and his answers on the social media platform have been viewed 8 million times.[9] He also served as the Chairperson of the Fellowship Committee, member of the All India Council of Sports (AICS)[5] and member of the Standing Committee on Finance.[10]
Union Minister
editOn 3 September 2017 he was appointed Union Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. He defeated Vaibhav Gehlot, the son of Ashok Gehlot, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan from Jodhpur by a margin of 2.74 lakh votes in 2019 Indian general elections.[11] Shekhawat became the Minister of Jal Shakti on 31 May 2019.[12][13]
Social works
editBefore entering electoral politics, Shekhawat held many positions in many forums and organisations; he was the co-convener of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, the economic wing of the Sangh Parivar and the General Secretary of Seema Jan Kalyan Samiti, an organisation dedicated to strengthening national security by developing border towns and villages.[14] As General Secretary, he was instrumental in building a second line of defence that consisted of civilians residing near the border area of Rajasthan. He was also instrumental in furthering the impact of civil defence by setting up 40 schools and four hostels along the India-Pakistan border.[15]
In October 2024, he launched the first coal gallery at the National Science Centre in New Delhi, India.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b "Members Bioprofile". loksabhaph.nic.in. Lok Sabha Secretariat. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ "Who is Gajendra Singh Shekhawat?". indianexpress.com. New Delhi: The Indian Express. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ Report, TOI (4 September 2017). "Cabinet rejig: Meet Modi's formidable force in run-up to 2019 general elections". The Times of India.
- ^ "Constituencywise-All Candidates". Eciresults.nic.in. Archived from the original on 16 February 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ^ a b c "Cabinet reshuffle: Dedicated party veterans, ex-bureaucrats in Modi's chosen nine". The Times of India. PTI. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
- ^ Sharma, Nidhi (25 April 2024). "Lok Sabha election: Two-term MP and greenhorn Rajputs clash in Jodhpur". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ Report, TOI. "BJP Kisan Morcha names office bearers, says will work for farmers". PTI. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ Report, TOI. "On right track". PTI. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ "Profile: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat". Quora. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ https://www.oneindia.com/politicians/gajendrasingh-shekhawat-35237.html
- ^ Parihar, Rohit (24 May 2019). "Election results 2019: Modi wave drowns Ashok Gehlot's son in Jodhpur". India Today. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- ^ "Govt forms 'Jal Shakti' Ministry by merging Water Resources and Drinking Water Ministries", Business Standard, Press Trust of India, 31 May 2019
- ^ "PM Modi allocates portfolios. Full list of new ministers", Live Mint, 31 May 2019
- ^ "Gajendra Singh Shekhawat". www.ptinews.com/home.aspx. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and his contribution". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ Shukla, Piyush (21 October 2024). "First-Ever Coal Gallery Inaugurated at National Science Centre, New Delhi". adda247. Retrieved 21 October 2024.