Gurugram: Rao Inderjit Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prominent veteran leader from the dominant ahir community of southern Haryana, took oath as Union Minister on Sunday.
Rao has been elected as Lok Sabha MP for the sixth consecutive term now, of the last three were as a BJP member.
Rao (74) retained his Gurgaon seat and defeated Congress actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar by 75,079 votes. Babbar is a former a former five-time parliamentarian.
Singh won the Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket for a third consecutive time, having won in 2014, 2019 and 2024.
Rao’s clean image, personal support base and being a descendant of freedom fighter Rao Tularam ensure a strong following in a large swath of southern Haryana.
Singh has played an important role in the formation of AIIMS in Rewari and GMDA in Gurugram and the completion of pending projects, including the KMP Expressway, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Dwarka Expressway, Gurugram-Sohna Expressway elevated, Metro Expansion in old Gurugram, community centres, stadiums and others.
The veteran leader of south Haryana has reached the Lok Sabha by winning elections from the Gurgaon seat third time in a row. Even before this, he had been MP from Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seat twice on Congress ticket.
Apart from Hindu voters, he has a strong hold on the nine assembly seats of Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat. His father Rao Birender Singh has also been the CM of the state. Rao Inderjit Singh was once defeated by the martyr’s wife Sudha Yadav during the Kargil war due to sympathy and the Modi wave.
Rao has so far contested a total of 10 elections including 4 Assembly elections and 6 Lok Sabha elections. In which he was the winner in 9.
Rao Inderjit Singh has complete dominance in Rewari Bawal, Gurgaon, Pataudi, Sohna and Badshahpur.
He also has a hold in Muslim-dominated assembly constituencies including Nuh, Punhana and Firozpur Jhirka.
As Ahirs, especially Yadav’s, constitute roughly 10 per cent of voters in the state his clean image and family lineage in the state’s politics have helped him to secure his victory.
During his stint as Union minister in the Modi government, served in various capacities, including as Union Minister of State for Planning and Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers.
Under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) dispensation, Rao Inderjit Singh had served as Minister of State for External Affairs and Defence Production.
As a parliamentarian, Rao Inderjit Singh was the Chairman of the Standing Committee for Information Technology.
The prestigious Lawrence School, Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh educated and a law graduate who is widely travelled, has also been a four-term MLA from Haryana between 1977 and 2004.
Inderjit was a member of the Indian shooting Team from 1990 to 2003 and won a Bronze Medal at the Commonwealth Shooting Championship. He was also a National Champion in Skeet for three consecutive years and won three gold medals in the SAF Games.
–IANS
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