Gajendra Singh Shekhawat thanks PM-designate Modi for including him in council of ministers for third time

New Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Sunday thanked Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi for giving him an opportunity for the third consecutive term to serve the country.
Shekhawat, a three-time MP from Rajasthan who was the Jal Shakti Minister in the outgoing government at the Centre told reporters today, "The Prime Minister has given me the opportunity to serve the country by including me in his team for the third consecutive time. We will work as a team under the leadership of the Prime Minister and will fulfil all the promises and live up to the expectations and aspirations of the country."
The BJP leader participated in a high tea hosted at the Prime Minister's 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence in the national capital earlier today ahead of the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan of Narendra Modi and his council of ministers.
During his term as the Jal Shakti Minister under Modi's second term, Shekhawat had overseen the implementation of the flagship Jal Jeevan Mission term.
The mission had a budget totalling around Rs 3.5 trillion. It spearheaded to provision of water taps to all households by 2024, claiming significant progress with drinking water reaching 60 per cent of households nationwide.
Shekhawat spearheaded the mission to provide water taps to all households by 2024, claiming significant progress with drinking water reaching 60 per cent of households nationwide.
Previously, Shekhawat had served as the Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare from September 2017 - May 2019
Shekhawat began his political journey as a BJP student wing ABVP leader when he was a Philosophy postgraduate and MPhil student from Jai Narayan Vyas University in Jodhpur. He won the university presidential election in 1992 with a record margin.
He became the general secretary of the BJP's Kisan Morcha where he showcased his leadership skills.
Before entering into electoral politics, Shekhawat was actively involved in the RSS and served as the General Secretary of the Seema Jan Kalyan Samiti, an RSS-affiliated NGO focusing on welfare projects in border areas.
He was born into a Rajput family in 1967, he secured his first parliamentary win in 2014, defeating the Congress's Chandresh Kumari Katoch with a record-breaking margin.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, he won from the Jodhpur constituency defeating Congress's Karan Singh Uchiyarda with a margin of 1,15,677 votes. (ANI)