Kiren Rijiju has been promoted to the cabinet minister rank. The 49-year-old lawmaker from Arunachal Pradesh succeeded Ravi Shankar Prasad as the Minister of Law and Justice. Rijiju, one of the BJP’s most recognisable faces in the Northeast, had been serving as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Minister of State for Minority Affairs.
A fitness freak
Kiren Rijiju, a fitness-conscious minister, is said to be the key strategist who helped the BJP make inroads into Arunachal Pradesh, the state which is the Congress stronghold since its inception. He often tweets videos doing exercise, setting fitness goals for his one million followers on Twitter.
Political career
Kiren Rijiju first contested the 2004 Lok Sabha election from Arunachal West constituency and won with a decent margin. He, however, lost the 2009 Lok Sabha elections by a margin of 1,314 votes. Riding the Modi wave of 2014, Rijiju won the seat in 2014. The same year, he was accommodated as the Minister of State for Home in PM Modi’s cabinet. Continuing the winning streak, Rijiju defeated former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki by a margin of 1,74,843 votes in 2019.
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One of the most outspoken voices of Team Modi, Rijiju today took to Twitter to thank the prime minister. Tweeting in Hindi, the xx-time MP thanked PM Modi for giving him a new responsibility, adding that he will work towards realising the Prime Minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
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Born on November 19, 1971, in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, Rijiju obtained a Law degree from the University of Delhi.
Rijiju is among seven Union Ministers who have been promoted to the cabinet in today’s big reshuffle. The others are Hardeep Singh Puri, Parshottam Rupala, G Kishan Reddy, Mansukh Mandaviya, and Anurag Thakur. A total of 36 new ministers have joined Team Modi. The cabinet now has 77 ministers.
