Jaipur- Despite a significant setback in the recent 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP lost 11 seats to Congress and its allies in Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has retained a strong representation from the state in his new cabinet.
Defying speculations of reduced ministerial positions due to the electoral performance, Modi 3.0 continues to include four ministers from Rajasthan, reflecting a strategic emphasis on social engineering.
In the 2014 and 2019 elections, the BJP achieved a clean sweep in Rajasthan. However, the 2024 elections presented a different scenario, with the party experiencing a considerable loss.
Despite this, Modi has kept three incumbent ministers while making one change due to an electoral defeat. Here's a closer look at the four ministers from Rajasthan:
Arjun Ram Meghwal, a prominent Dalit leader from Rajasthan, began his political journey in 2009 and has been elected as an MP for the fourth consecutive time.
Meghwal's career started as a telephone operator in 1974 in the telecommunications department. In 1982, he joined the Rajasthan Industries Service and later progressed to the Rajasthan Administrative Service, eventually being promoted to the IAS cadre in 2006.
Resigning from his position as Churu's Collector in 2009, Meghwal joined the BJP and won his first election by defeating Congress's Revantram Panwar by 19,653 votes.
In 2014, he secured a record victory over Congress's Shankar Pannu by 309,000 votes and served as the Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha.
In 2016, he was appointed Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, and in 2018, he was assigned to the Ministries of Water Resources and Parliamentary Affairs. Re-elected in 2019, Meghwal was handling the Law Ministry in the previous government from May 2023.
On May 17, 2023, he had replaced Kiren Rijiju as the Minister of Law and Justice. He continues as the Law Minister in this government.
Originally from Haryana, Bhupender Yadav spent his childhood and received his education in Ajmer. He has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from a young age and served as the Vice President of the student union at Government College, Ajmer.
Recognized for his organizational skills, Yadav was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan in 2012 and served until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In 2010, he became the BJP's National Secretary and later the National General Secretary in 2014. Yadav has been an election in-charge for various states, including Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra, Manipur, and Odisha.
In 2024, he won his first Lok Sabha election from the Alwar parliamentary constituency by a margin of 48,282 votes.
Bhupender Yadav is a key member of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah's team and serves as a prominent face for the OBC community. He was inducted into the central cabinet as the Minister of Labour in 2013.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat's political journey spans from being a student union president to a Union Minister. He has been associated with the RSS since childhood and has held roles such as the co-convener of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch and the secretary of the Seema Jan Kalyan Samiti, dedicated to the development of Rajasthan's border areas.
In 1992, Shekhawat won the student union president election at JNVU, Jodhpur, on the ABVP ticket. In 2014, he contested the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket, defeating Congress's Chandresh Kumari by 410,000 votes.
In 2017, he was appointed as the Union Minister of State for Agriculture. In 2019, Shekhawat won again from Jodhpur, defeating Vaibhav Gehlot by 274,000 votes, and was entrusted with the newly formed Jal Shakti Ministry.
Shekhawat secured his third consecutive win in 2024 by defeating Congress's Karan Singh Uchiara by over 115,000 votes.
Bhagirath Chaudhary, a resident of Manpura village in Ajmer, is 69 years old. His father is Ramchandra Chaudhary, and his mother is Dakha Devi. Chaudhary entered politics in 2013, winning his first legislative assembly seat from Kishangarh.
He served as the chairman of the Environment Committee from 2015-2017. Although he lost the 2018 assembly elections, he secured a Lok Sabha ticket in 2019 and defeated Congress's Riju Jhunjhunwala.
In the 2023 assembly elections, he again lost the Kishangarh seat, but the party retained its faith in him by giving him another Lok Sabha ticket. He triumphed over Congress's Ramchandra Chaudhary by a significant margin.
Known for his calm and composed demeanor, Bhagirath Chaudhary has held various organizational positions and is currently the President of the BJP's Kisan Morcha in Rajasthan. He is seen as an impartial and grassroots leader in the state.
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