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Who is Kamlesh Paswan?
Born in 1976, Kamlesh Paswan is currently a BJP MP from Bansgaon, UP and MoS for Rural Development in the Union Cabinet. Paswan has been elected as an LS MP from Bansgaon since 2009 General Elections.
Early Life
Paswan comes from Dalit community and completed his schooling from Gorakhpur, UP. His father, Om Prakash Paswan, was killed in 1996 while addressing a public rally. In 2013, Paswan also claimed threat to his life, especially after a BSP leader of the region was murdered by assailants. He even requested the then Akhilesh Yadav-led UP govt to provide protection to him from the mafia.
Political Career
Paswan started his career with the Samajwadi Party and even became an MLA in 2002 from Gorakhpur's Maniram Assembly seat. Later, he switched to BJP and became an MP from Bansgaon in 2009.
After that, he again won in 2014 and widened his victory margin to almost 190k votes. In 2019, his victory margin remained a little above 1.5 lakh votes.
However, it was the 2024 Lok Sabha elections where Paswan faced stiff challenge from Congress' Sadal Prasad and was almost defeated from his pocket borough. But despite heavy anti-incumbency, Paswan managed to retain his seat by a slender margin of just 3,000 votes.
After becoming an LS MP for the fourth time in 2024, BJP leadership decided to reward him by appointing him as an Union minister.
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