nadda-assumes-charge-of-union-health-ministry

President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), J P Nadda, assumed office as the Union Health Minister on Tuesday.

 

Nadda, who was also allocated the Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry, took his oath as a cabinet minister a day earlier in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

 

The Health Ministry and Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry were previously under Mansukh Mandaviya in the last Modi administration.

 

Nadda, 63, held the health portfolio during the first term of the Modi government before his elevation to the role of BJP's working president in 2019. He became the party’s full-fledged president in January 2020 following Amit Shah’s appointment as Union Home Minister.

 

Nadda’s term as BJP president concluded in January, and he received a six-month extension to oversee preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. His extended term will conclude in June.

 

An alumnus of law, Nadda began his political journey with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

 

He rose to become the president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the BJP's youth wing, in 1991. Over the years, Nadda has held several key positions within the party and played a significant role in its election campaigns across various states. He also served as a minister in BJP-led governments in his home state, Himachal Pradesh.

 

In 2012, Nadda was elected to the Rajya Sabha and was inducted into the BJP’s parliamentary board in 2014 when Amit Shah became the party president. Following the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he was appointed the BJP's working president, and in January 2020, he ascended to the position of BJP president.

 

Additionally, Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav took charge as the Minister of State for Health. Jadhav has also been given independent charge of the Ayush Ministry. The 64-year-old leader is serving his fourth consecutive term from the Buldhana Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra.