Hari Chaudhari, a 4-time MP, joins Modi govt as MoS

Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhari, who stormed the traditional Congress bastion of Banaskantha 16 years ago and maintained a strong hold over it winning the Lok Sabha seat four times, today bagged a ministerial berth at the Centre.

An active member of RSS, the four-time MP joined BJP during late 1980s and held several key positions in the party unit in Gujarat, including the post of Vice President in 2005.

60-year-old Chaudhari, who will be a Minister of State in the Narendra Modi government, did his post-graduation in commerce and started working as a diamond trader at an early age. Later, he shifted to Banaskantha to start his own business.

Chaudhari first came into limelight after winning the 1998 Lok Sabha polls for the very first time on a BJP ticket. He was again elected in 1999 from Banaskantha.

In 2013, he won the bye-elections from this seat after the death of sitting Congress MP Mukesh Gadhvi.

He defeated Congress veteran Joita Patel in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, cornering almost 58 per cent of the total votes.

In Parliament, he was a member of several panels, including the Standing Committees on Finance, Chemicals and Fertilizer, Agriculture and Commerce.