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From Panchayat to Union Cabinet: The amazing journey of Ajay Tamta

Induction of dalit leader Ajay Tamta comes ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

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Ajay Tamta takes oath during the swearing-in ceremony of new ministers following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet re-shuffle, at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi on July 5, 2016.
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From an obscure Panchayat functionary to a Union Minister, it has been a spectacular political journey for Ajay Tamta. Tamta, who would turn 44 on July 16, cut his teeth in politics as a member of district panchayat in his home state Uttarakhand and rose to become its vice president.

The induction of the dalit leader from Almora comes at a time when BJP is promoting leaders of the dalit and backward communities in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand where assembly polls are due early next year.

A first-term member of the Lok Sabha, Tamta is a member of the Standing Committee on Human Resource Development (HRD) as also of the Consultative Committee in the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. He was earlier a member of the Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Earlier he was a minister in his home state between 2007 and 2009. He had contested state assembly polls in 2002 as an independent but lost. Tamta tried his luck at the hustings again in 2007 and won on BJP ticket.

Mahendra Nath Pandey

He is one of the BJP's Brahmin faces in Uttar Pradesh, where it is going the whole hog to win after being out of power for a decade-and-a-half. Pandey, a first-time Lok Sabha member, is an MP from Chandauli bordering Bihar.

Pandey's induction in the Union government is being seen as an attempt to reach out to the significantly large Brahmin vote bank in the state. The Brahmins, who were traditionally Congress supporters, had been siding with BJP in the post-Mandal era. However, a large chunk of them later also voted for Mayawati's BSP.

The 58-year-old leader is a two-time MLA and was elected to the UP Legislative Assembly in 1991 and 1996. He was the secretary of the BJP legislature party.

In 1997, Pandey became Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development and was the MoS Planning (Independent charge) between 1998 and 2000. He was also the MoS Panchayati Raj in UP between 2000 and 2002. He has a Masters in Journalism and PhD (Hindi) from Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

Pandey is currently a member of the Business Advisory Committee and the Committee of Parliament on Official Language.

In the past, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Rural Development and Consultative Committee, Ministry of Steel and Mines.

Rajen Gohain

The four-time BJP MP from Assam is a known champion for the cause of small tea growers in the Northeastern state. Gohain, 65, who was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1999 from Nagaon, is a law graduate and was actively involved in the six-year-long Assam agitation against illegal immigrants in early 1980s.

He belongs to the Ahom community like former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and his induction into the Modi Ministry could be an attempt by the BJP to penetrate into this community, traditionally known as Congress supporters.

Despite Nagaon being a minority dominated constituency, Gohain was elected to the Lower House for four consecutive term.

"I will try my level best to serve the people of Assam. I request the people of Assam to be with me in this journey," Gohain said.

He has been a leading figure in Assam to fight for the cause of small tea garden owners, who often allege discrimination by big tea companies.

A state-level hockey player in his school days, Gohain was also a long-distance runner. He is Chairperson, Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes. 

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