Nitin Gadkari
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THE SWEARING-IN RIL’s Mukesh Ambani (left) and Adani Group’s Gautam Adani Rajan Mittal (left) and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Sonia Gandhi (left) with L K Advani > TRANSPORT & SHIPPING MINISTRY > HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT NITIN GADKARI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI Date & year of birth:May 27, 1956 A seasoned politician Date & year of birth:March 23, 1976 Constituency: Nagpur, Maharashtra Constituency: RS member from Gujarat Whether represented the constituency before: No Whether represented the constituency before: No Whether held ministerial charge earlier: No Whether held ministerial charge earlier: No The actress-turned-politician stands out and RSS favourite among BJP members for her meteoric rise within the party ranks. Irani is one of the RAJNATH SINGH has distanced himself from veterans L K Advani & M M Joshi vice-presidents of the BJP. A Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat, Irani is said to be close > HOME MINISTRY DATE OF BIRTH: to Narendra Modi. Although she lost out to July 10, 1951 Rahul Gandhi from Amethi this time, she had haratiya Janata Party (BJP) mounted a spirited campaign. Irani contested the elections for President Rajnath Singh is CONSTITUENCY: the first time on a BJP ticket in 2004 against Kapil Sibal from known to be one of the “most Lucknow cunning” politicians, having Chandni Chowk. She lost the election. Irani was a household swiftly worked his way up in LOK SABHA name, thanks to her role in popular teleserial Kyunki Saas Bhi Bthe party. With an eye on the prime min- Kabhi Bahu Thi. She was appointed national secretary of the CONSTITUENCIES isterial post, he placed his bets on former party in 2010 and thereafter the president of the BJP Mahila Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, REPRESENTED IN Morcha. In 2011, Irani was appointed as Member of Parliament whom he had expelled from the party’s THE PAST: from Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha and made party vice-president parliamentary board (the highest deci- Ghaziabad in 2012. Irani, who is perceived as a younger Sushma Swaraj in sion-making body) during his first presi- the Modi camp, has been quite vocal in her stint in the upper dential stint from 2005 to 2009. (2009-2014) Singh, according to party sources, thou- House raising issues of women empowerment and crime ght he would be the natural choice for the WHETHER HELD against women. She is one of younger Cabinet ministers in the prime minister’s post should the BJP fail to MINISTERIAL Modi government. get a majority on its own. Singh became CHARGE the BJP president as a compromise candi- EARLIER: date. Since the sparring factions within the > MINORITY AFFAIRS BJP and its progenitor, the Rashtriya Swaya- Union surface msevak Sangh could not agree on any oth- transport NAJMA A HEPTULLA Nitin Gadkari, the former BJP president, defeated seven-time MP er name, after then party president Nitin minister Date & year of birth:April 13, 1940 and Congress veteran Vilas Muttemwar from the Nagpur con- Gadkari resigned following allegations of (1999-2000); stituency, which houses the RSS headquarters, in his debut Lok corruption, they had to settle on Singh. Constituency: Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh Sabha election. Singh, 63, became a member of the RSS Union Whether represented the constituency before: No Gadkari, who had to resign as party president in January 2013, at 13 and was elected from the Mirzapur agriculture Whether held ministerial charge earlier: No in the wake of allegations over his Purti group of companies at Assembly seat in 1977. Singh, who used to minister a crucial juncture when he was seeking a second term, is now teach Physics, became education minister Heptulla is likely to be the oldest member of (2003-2004); firmly back at the BJP high table. in the UP government in 1991, state party the Cabinet. She is the grand-niece of He started his 35-year political career as a member of the Akhil president in 1997, and Union cabinet min- chief minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and related to Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and graduated to the RSS and ister for surface transport in 1999. of Uttar actor Aamir Khan. She was first elected to the then to the BJP. Till date, he is considered the Sangh’s “blue- He was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Pradesh Rajya Sabha in 1980; she was deputy eyed boy”. from 2000 to 2002. Singh is a strong sup- chairperson of the Rajya Sabha from 1989 to Gadkari’s stint as the public works department (PWD) minister porter of construction of a Ram temple at (2000-2002) in the Maharashtra government from 1995 to 1999 is significant the disputed site. Of late, he seemed to have 2004. Heptulla was at the fore of the for his initiative in the infrastructure sector, most notably the distanced himself from the old guard (L.K. Congress’s women and minority leadership in the late ’80s and Mumbai-Pune expressway. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi) of the ’90s. She switched to the BJP in 2004, complaining she was Gadkari brokered peace between sulking leaders L K Advani, BJP and emerged as a close confident of personally humiliated by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. In a Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi on one side and Modi. Though he doesn’t enjoy much career spanning about four decades, Heptulla has been part of Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh on the other. ground support in his state, he continues to Rajnath Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee exchange greetings after the BJP several parliamentary committees; this will be her first stint as A successful businessman, he is associated with several compa- be a favourite of the RSS. president was sworn in at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday minister. She is the only minister from the Muslim community nies, co-operatives and sugar plants in Nagpur and the Vidharba in the Modi Cabinet. Heptulla, along with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, region of Maharashtra. is one of the two Muslim faces of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha. In Gadkari is also credited to be the brain behind former prime minister A B Vajpayee’s Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. 2013, she said it was “a historical fact that during BJP rule in Anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania had levelled allega- Gujarat, only one communal riot took place and since then, no tions of corruption against Gadkari. He now has clearly put all With Modi’s confidence in such incident has taken place there. But in the same Godhra, that behind him, as he starts a new innings as a Union Cabinet during the rule of erstwhile Congress regime, 400 riots had minister. him, has his task cut out occurred.” > WATER RESOURCES > RAILWAYS > FINANCE & DEFENCE DATE OF BIRTH: UMA BHARTI Dec 28, 1952 D V SADANANDA GOWDA Date & year of birth:May 3, 1959 ARUN JAITLEY Date & year of birth:March 18, 1953 CONSTITUENCY: Constituency: Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh Although Arun Jaitley lost in his Lok Sabha election Rajya Sabha MP Constituency: Bangalore North Constituencies represented: Jhansi (‘89, ‘91, ‘96); Khajuraho (‘98) debut from Amritsar this year, Prime Minister Whether represented the constituency before: No Narendra Modi’s confidence in him remained intact. from Gujarat Whether held ministerial charge earlier: Yes Jaitley, tipped to be the finance minister in the new PREVIOUS TERMS: Whether held ministerial charge earlier: No A few years ago, she had called Narendra government, has the task cut out: To make the ailing 2000-2005, Sadananda Gowda, shot into fame after Modi “vinash purush”, but on Monday economy turnaround. He might also be given addi- assuming the post of chief minister of tional charge of defence. 2006-2011 and firebrand BJP leader Uma Bharti was one of Karnataka in August 2011, following the In the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) from 2012 the 23 parliamentarians who has willingly regime, he had held the portfolio of commerce and resignation of mentor B S Yeddyurappa. He is joined his Cabinet. Bharti won her fourth Lok industry, stoutly putting forth developing countries’ MINISTERIAL considered to be an upright and clean Sabha election with a margin of 190,000 stand at the World Trade Organization ministerial meet CHARGE HELD politician. As chief minister, he strived hard votes from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. Bharti, 55, at Cancun in 2003. EARLIER: MoS to improve the image of the party’s was born to a backward peasant family in Dunda village, Jaitley, 61, was born into a Punjabi family. His father (Ind.) for I&B (Oct government that had been tarnished due to allegations of Madhya Pradesh and her formal education is only up to Class 6. was a lawyer. Jaitley graduated from the University of ’99- Sep’00); corruption, mainly on the issue illegal mining in Karnataka. He She entered into politics in early 80’s and contested her first Delhi, in 1977. He was also a successful lawyer. He also Disinvestment introduced various schemes such as Sakaala, aimed at election at the age of 25. She lost only to win the Khajuraho seat held the ministry of law and justice. Arun Jaitley after taking the oath providing time-bound services at government offices. This background would stand him in good stead at (Dec ’99-Jul ’00); in Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region five years later. She However, due to factional feud, the party was voted out of a time when the entire new law — Direct Taxes Code — the opposition by the previous minister, A K Antony, on Law (Jul ’00-Nov shot into fame for her organising skills and fiery speeches is to be worked upon, the fate of Goods and Services Tax an increase in the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap on ’00); Union power during the Karnataka Assembly elections during May during the controversial Ayodhya-Ram Janmabhoomi hangs in balance, a stance is to be made clear on retro- defence manufacturing from 26 per cent.