Though initially reluctant in joining the Government, BJP president Rajnath Singh once again made it big as a Cabinet Minister, now in the Narendra Modi-led dispensation.
The 62-year-old Singh had steadfastly announced Modi’s name as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate despite opposition from seniors like lK Advani. He is going to have a major say in the functioning of the Government. The teacher-turned-politician rose from being a BJP activist in Gorakhpur, where he taught physics in a local college, to the Chief Minister of politically crucial Uttar Pradesh and then Transport and Agriculture Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government. After taking over BJP’s reins for the first time from Advani in December 2005, Singh sought to rebuild the party by focusing on basic Hindutva ideologies and said there would be “no compromise” on building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. It was under Singh that Vajpayee’s dream project, National Highway Development Programme was launched. He shifted from Ghaziabad this elections to lucknow and won with an impressive margin.