Narendra Singh Tomar, 61, who played a key role in implementing the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, as union minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, and Mines in the 2014 cabinet, was re-elected to the new cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

Tomar, who won from Morena defeating Ramniwas Rawat of the Congress by a margin of 113,000 votes, has been responsible for the assembly wins of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh. As state BJP president he led the party to victory in the state assembly elections in 2008. He was sent back by the central leadership in 2013, and led the party to a third consecutive win. He was state BJP affairs in charge in Uttar Pradesh during 2012 assembly elections. Tomar is known for his organisational skills.

Tomar started his political career as a student leader and later became a corporator in Gwalior. In the run up to the state assembly elections in 2008, the Rajput leader from the Gwalior-Chambal region impressed the senior party leaders when he announced that he would not contest assembly elections for the sake of organisational work and the party’s victory.

First Published: May 31, 2019 17:13 IST