Gajendra Singh Shekhawat | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Shekhawat in August 2024 | |
| Union Minister of Culture | |
| Assumed office 10 June 2024 | |
| President | Droupadi Murmu |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | G. Kishan Reddy |
| Union Minister of Tourism | |
| Assumed office 10 June 2024 | |
| President | Droupadi Murmu |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | G. Kishan Reddy |
| Union Minister of Jal Shakti | |
| In office 30 May 2019 – 10 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 | (1967-10-03)3 October 1967 (age 58)[1] |
| Party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | |
| Education | Jai Narain Vyas University (M.A. &M. Phil.) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (born 3 October 1967;[2]Hindi pronunciation:[gəd͡ʒeːn̪d̪ɾəsɪŋgʱʃeːkʰaːʋət̪]) is an Indianpolitician who is serving as the 13thMinister of Culture and 11thMinister of Tourism since 2024.[3] He is amember of parliament from theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) representingJodhpur in theLok Sabha.[4] He was the potential Chief Ministerial face of the BJP in Rajasthan's 2023 elections.
Shekhawat was born inJaisalmer in the Indian state ofRajasthan. His father, Shankar Singh Shekhawat, was a senior government officer in the water works department and travelled on frequent assignments across the state to several different schools. He received aMaster of Arts andMaster of philosophy fromJai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur. He was the second of five children and was the only son, his younger sister is now a leading executive at CitiBank.[5][6]
Shekhawat 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 previousAkhil 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 theRajasthan State Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party.[1]
He was elected as a member of parliament to the16th Lok Sabha in 2014, with the highest ever winning margin (4,10,051 votes) from the constituency ofJodhpur.[citation needed]
Known for his use of social media, Shekhawat is the most followed Indian politician onQuora.[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]
On 3 September 2017 he was appointedUnion Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. He defeated Vaibhav Gehlot, the son ofAshok Gehlot, theChief Minister ofRajasthan fromJodhpur by a margin of 2.74 lakh votes in2019 Indian general elections.[11] Shekhawat became theMinister of Jal Shakti on 31 May 2019.[12][13]
Before entering electoral politics, Shekhawat held many positions in many forums and organisations; he was the co-convener of theSwadeshi Jagaran Manch, the economic wing of theSangh 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 theNational Science Centre inNew Delhi, India.[16]
| Lok Sabha | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forJodhpur 2014 – Present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by N/A Ministry created by merging Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation | Minister of Jal Shakti 30 May 2019 - Present | Incumbent |
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