Mansukh Mandaviya

Son of a farmer from Hanol village of Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district, it has been a rapid rise for 51-year-old Mansukh Mandaviya ever since he joined the ABVP in 1992, and subsequently moved to BJP Yuva Morcha.

Many in the BJP in Gujarat view his elevation as Union Health Minister as a reiteration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s confidence in him as well as a move to build a second-rung leaders from his home state.

Mandaviya might have no experience in handling Health and Family Welfare, but in his previous stint as Minister of State for Chemical and Fertiliser, and Ports and Shipping, he intervened to ensure seamless flow of necessary drugs and oxygen.

Seen as a quiet worker, Mandaviya was credited with boosting the membership drives for the party in Gujarat, especially in late 2014, and leading padyatras, which also helped build his image independently as a leader. “The Gujarat state unit enrolled 1.14 crore new members, the highest in any state. But he never made a fuss about it,” says an insider.

A postgraduate in political science, Mandaviya contested his first and only assembly election in 2002, when the BJP won 127 out of 182 seats – its highest ever in the state. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 and was re-elected in 2018.

He joined the Narendra Modi government in 2016, as junior minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Chemicals and Fertilisers. It was during his tenure that Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras, the pharmacy stores selling generic drugs at affordable rates, were launched.