BJP's Dalit face Thawar Chand Gehlot becomes minister for second time

Thawar Chand Gehlot, a prominent Dalit face of the BJP, has made his way to the Narendra Modi cabinet for a second consecutive time.

Gehlot was appointed as the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment during the Modi government's first stint in 2014.

As a minister, Gehlot scripted several schemes for the welfare of the deprived sections of the society as well as for the physically-challenged people.

Born in Rupeta village in Nagda tehsil of Ujjain district on May 18, 1948, Gehlot graduated form Vikram University, Ujjain.

Gehlot represented the Shajapur Lok Sabha seat between 1996 and 2009. Following delimitation, Shajapur constituency ceased to exist and Dewas constituency came into being in 2008.

In 2009, Gehlot lost the Lok Sabha poll to Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma, who is currently a minister in the Kamal Nath-led Madhya Pradesh government.

The BJP leader became a Rajya Sabha member in 2012 and was re-elected to the Upper House of Parliament from Madhya Pradesh in 2018. His Rajya Sabha term will end in 2024.

Considered close to Modi, Gehlot, one of the most noticeable faces from the Scheduled Caste (SC), was earlier deputed as the central observer for BJP in Gujarat.

He was also the general secretary in-charge of the BJP in the national capital as well as Karnataka, and also headed the party's Scheduled Caste cell.

He had been to jail several times between 1968 and 1971 for raising workers' issues as well as during the Emergency in 1970s.

He is currently a member of the BJP's parliamentary board.