Senior BJP leader and former defence minister Rajnath Singh, who took oath as Union minister on June 9 in Modi government 3.0 was allotted defence portfolio in the new cabinet on Monday.
Singh had taken oath, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his colleagues, including Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dr S Jaishankar, Ashwini Vaishnaw and other ministers from BJP and its allies, on Sunday.
Singh won the Lucknow seat in 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, defeating Samajwadi Party's Ravidas Mehrotra by about 1.35 lakh votes. Despite a strong performance by the INDIA bloc in the state, this marks Singh's third consecutive win from this seat.
During Prime Minister Modi's first term, Singh was the Union Home Minister. Since 2019, as the Defence Minister, he has implemented several significant measures to boost India's combat readiness along the China border and enhance the country's defence manufacturing. Under his leadership, the defence ministry aggressively improved infrastructure in border areas, allowing for quicker military mobilization in critical regions.
Under his tenure, the contentious Agniveer scheme was rolled out and there is pressure on the government to review it. The Agniveer scheme aimed to recruit soldiers, airmen, and sailors below officer rank into the Indian Armed Forces for four years. After this period, up to 25% of these recruits, known as 'Agniveers,' could be offered a permanent commission for another 15 years, based on merit and organizational needs.
During his tenure as Defence Minister, India also strengthened its maritime capabilities in the strategic Indian Ocean region.
Born on July 10, 1951, in Babhora village, Varanasi district (now Chandauli), Uttar Pradesh, Singh grew up in a farmer's family. He completed his early education locally and earned an MSc in Physics from Gorakhpur University. He then worked as a Physics lecturer at KB Post-Graduate College in Mirzapur.
Singh began his political career with the RSS in 1972 and served as the organisational secretary of ABVP Gorakhpur from 1969 to 1971. He entered politics in 1974 and was elected as an MLA in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1977. He became an MLC in 1988 and served as the Education Minister in 1991. Singh was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1994.
On November 22, 1999, he became the Union Surface Transport Minister under Vajpayee. He was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from October 28, 2000, and was elected MLA from Haidargarh twice. On May 24, 2003, he became the Union Agriculture Minister. Singh served as BJP national president from December 31, 2005, to December 19, 2009, and was elected MP from Ghaziabad in May 2009.