Former RSS pracharak, ex-MP Om Mathur included in BJP poll panel

Between 2004 and 2005, Mathur served as the party’s national secretary before being appointed national general secretary in 2005. He remained in the position till 2008 when he became a Rajya Sabha MP. Unlike most others, who start out as MLAs and councillors or in the Lok Sabha, Mathur’s first-ever public appointment came in the form of a member of the Upper House of Parliament.

The same year, he was placed at the helm of the party’s Rajasthan unit. He remained in the position for around a year and a half till July 2009. In 2014, he was made the party’s national vice-president. In 2016, he was again nominated to the Rajya Sabha for a second term, which ended in 2022.

Born in Rajasthan’s Pali district, the 70-year-old Mathur completed his BA from Rajasthan University in Jaipur. Considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mathur has stayed away from controversies throughout his long career. In 2015, when hoardings calling for him to be made CM came up in Barmer during then CM Vasundhara Raje’s visit to the district, he termed it a “sin” and distanced himself from the hoardings. Mathur is not known to have a mass following and has been a hardcore organisation man throughout his political career.

Recently, BJP leaders made a beeline to inquire about Mathur’s health after he underwent surgery in Delhi.