Modi 3.0 swearing-in ceremony: Pralhad Joshi takes oath as union minister

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) loyalist Pralhad Joshi took oath as UnionMinister in India's Narendra Modi cabinet at a ceremony Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday (Jun 9).

BJP leader Joshi contested the Lok Sabha elections 2024 from Karnataka's Dharwad constituency and won the seat by polling 716,231 votes.

He defeated Congress' Vinod Asooti by a margin of 97,324 votes.

Born on November 27, 1962, Joshi is the Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha since the year 2004, and served as the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines during Modi's second term (2019-2024).

He was sworn in as the cabinet minister in the Modi government on 30 May 2019.

He was also the State President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Karnataka (BJP) from 2014 to 2016.

He served on the panel of chairpersons of Lok Sabha from the year 2014 to 2016.

Early political career

Joshi stepped into the political orbit when he initiated a campaign to hoist the Indian flag at Idagah Maidan (also known as Kittur Rani Chennamma Maidan) in Karnataka'sHubli from 1992 to 1994.

He also spearheaded the "Save Kashmir Movement" during those years, which established him as a known figure in the area.

Following this, he was elected as the president of BJP in Dharwad district.

He first contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 and won the Dharwad seat by defeating Congress' BS Patil.

Joshi has won three consecutive elections from Dharwad constituency.

In the 2009 general elections, he emerged victorious by the second highest margin among 28 constituencies in Karnataka, whereas the majority of the ministers and MPs suffered a defeat in the same year.

In 2019 general elections, he won the Dharwad seat for the second consecutive term by a margin of over one lakh votes. He was soonappointed Minister of parliamentary affairs, coal and mines in Modi's cabinet.

(With inputs from agencies)