Low-profile, no fuss: The rise and fall of Mansukh Mandaviya

It has been rising quick for Mansukh Mandaviya, 49, the son of a farmer from Hanol village in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district, becoming a member of the ABVP in 1992 and later becoming a member of the BJP Yuva Morcha.

Many within the BJP in Gujarat see his rise as Union Health Minister as a transfer to construct second-run leaders from his dwelling state together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s confidence in him.

An in depth aide of the minister says, “Politics is teamwork and therefore winning and retaining the trust of the leader is the key to success. Mandaviya has done it successfully. He has decided to keep a low profile. He completes the tasks assigned to him. and believes in result-oriented work.”

“times like these” [when the country is fighting a pandemic]Appointment of a brand new well being minister is like taking a giant danger. He [Mandaviya] Several containers will need to have been ticked earlier than the well being portfolio was assigned,” says Sahyog.

Mandaviya might have had no expertise in dealing with well being and household welfare, however in his earlier tenure as Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, and Ports and Shipping, he intervened to make sure uninterrupted circulation of important medicines and oxygen .

For instance, when Gujarat confronted a scarcity of remdesivir earlier this 12 months, Mandaviya spoke to Pankaj Patel, president of Zydus Cadila, for resumption of gross sales of the anti-viral drug and later approval to extend its manufacturing capability. Gave it Also, ports have been requested to waive all costs for vessels carrying oxygen and associated gear and to prioritize their berthing.

Seen as a quiet activist, Mandaviya has been credited with selling membership drives for the social gathering in Gujarat, notably in late 2014, and distinguished padyatras, which have independently boosted his picture as a frontrunner. helped create. “The Gujarat state unit enrolled 1.14 crore new members, which is the highest in any state. But he never made a fuss about it,” says an insider.

A piece of politicians say that his elevation to cupboard rank on the Center might be a transfer to assist him rise in stature within the state. “This promotion may be an attempt to raise his profile before finally having him as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. This will help the party cadre and even the general public to accept him as a suitable candidate for the top post in the state,” says a celebration chief.

A postgraduate in political science, Mandaviya contested his first and solely meeting election in 2002, when the BJP received 127 out of 182 seats – the very best ever within the state. He was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2012 and re-elected in 2018.

He joined the Narendra Modi authorities in 2016 because the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Chemicals and Fertilizers. During his tenure, Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras, pharmacy shops promoting generic medicines at reasonably priced charges, have been began.

After the BJP’s victory in 2019, Mandaviya retained his berth as a junior minister, however with impartial cost of ports, transport and waterways. He was additionally the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers.

From the Leuva Patel sub-caste group of the Patidar neighborhood that dominates a number of constituencies within the Saurashtra area, Mandaviya’s rise within the BJP coincided with the ouster of stalwarts like Rajendrasinh Rana and Mahendra Trivedi, who additionally belonged to his dwelling district of Bhavnagar.