Mansukh L. Mandaviya has been appointed as Minister of labour and employment, replacing Bhupender Yadav in the 18th Lok Sabha.
Additionally, he has also been given charge of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs in the new cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, replacing Anurag Thakur.
Mandaviya had previously served as Health Minister in Modi’s cabinet, also holding the portfolio of Chemicals and Fertilizers since 2021.
Raksha Nikhil Khadse was appointed Minister of State for Sports, retaining her Lok Sabha seat for the second consecutive time with a margin of over 2,00,000 votes from the Raver constituency in Maharashtra.
With India’s preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games nearly complete, it will be interesting to see how they are further strengthened under the new Sports Minister.
Mandaviya has been a long-time member of the BJP, rising through the ranks of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the party’s student wing. In 2002, he became the youngest Member of the Legislative Assembly in Gujarat, winning from the Palitana constituency.
He served as the state secretary of the BJP in Gujarat before securing a seat in the Rajya Sabha in 2012. Mandaviya holds a Master’s degree in political science from Bhavnagar University and completed his Ph.D. at the Gujarat Institute of Development Research three years ago.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, Mandaviya won his seat from Porbandar, defeating Congress’ Lalit Vasoya by over 400,000 votes.