Ajay Tamta fourth Union minister from Uttarakhand : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Ajay Tamta fourth Union minister from Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: Ajay Tamta, BJP MP from Almora, who was made a minister of state in the Narendra Modi-headed Union council of ministers, is the fourth leader from Uttarakhand to become a Union minister since the creation of the state in 2000.

Ajay Tamta fourth Union minister from Uttarakhand

Almora MP Ajay Tamta being sworn in as minister of state at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI



SMA Kazmi

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 5

Ajay Tamta, BJP MP from Almora, who was made a minister of state in the Narendra Modi-headed Union council of ministers, is the fourth leader from Uttarakhand to become a Union minister since the creation of the state in 2000.

Ajay Tamta, who represents Almora (reserved) Lok Sabha seat, is a Dalit leader from the Kumoan region. He had been a minister in the BJP government in the state.

Major Gen BC Khanduri (retd) from Garhwal and Bacchi Singh Rawat from Kumoan had also been Union ministers during the government of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1999 to 2004.

Khanduri, who was earlier made a minister of state, was elevated Cabinet minister with the charge of road surface transport, looking after the ambitious National Highway projects. Bacchi Singh Rawat remained a minister of state in the Vajpayee government.

The BJP was defeated in the 2004 Lok Sabha poll and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led UPA government came to power at the Centre. Uttarakhand had no representation in the Manmohan Singh Union ministry. The Congress won all five seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha poll. Senior Congress leader Harish Rawat, who won the Haridwar seat for the Congress after 25 years, was inducted as a Union minister of state in the UPA-II government. Later, after the Congress won the state Assembly elections in 2012, Vijay Bahuguna was made Chief Minister, much against the wishes of Harish Rawat. To placate him, the Congress high command elevated him as a Union Cabinet minister in 2012.

After the landslide victory of the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, winning all five seats in the state, there was a strong demand to give representation to the state in the Central council of ministers. At that point of time, Ajay Tamta and former Chief Minister and Nainital MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari were the front runners. But none could make it as it was believed that Prime Minister was keen on Ajay Tamta as a young MP but due to opposition of Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, his name was dropped. However, the party high command finally decided to go with Ajay Tamta this time.

Top News

Relief for Delhi CM, High Court bins plea for his ouster

Relief for Delhi CM, High Court bins plea for his ouster

Special court extends Kejriwal’s ED custody till April 1