Jagat Prakash Nadda (born 2 December 1960) is an Indian politician and lawyer serving as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party since 20 January 2020. He was the BJP’s working president from June 2019 to January 2020.
Nadda is the former Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, and member of Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh and Parliamentary Board Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party. Earlier, he was a Minister in Himachal Pradesh Government.
Personal life
A Himachali by origin, Nadda was born on 2 December 1960 to Narain Lall Nadda and Krishna Nadda in Patna, Bihar. He has a brother Jagat Bhushan Nadda. He was educated at St. Xavier’s School, Patna. Thereafter he did his B.A. from Patna College, Patna University and LL.B. from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. As a child, he represented Bihar in the All India Junior Swimming Championship held at Delhi. Nadda married Mallika Nadda (née Banerjee) on 11 December 1991, with whom he has two sons. His mother-in-law Jayashree Banerjee was elected to Lok Sabha in 1999.
Health
On December 13, 2020, Nadda tweeted out to his followers that he was tested positive for coronavirus after experiencing symptoms. He also asked those who have been in contact with him for the last few days to isolate themselves and get checked.
Political career
Nadda was first elected to the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly in the election of 1993 from Bilaspur. He was re-elected in 1998.
During his first term, he served as the Leader of his party group in the H.P. Legislative Assembly, from 1994 to 1998. He was the Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Parliamentary Affairs during his second term.
Nadda was elected for another term in the 2007 elections. After Prem Kumar Dhumal formed a government, he inducted Nadda in his cabinet, as cabinet minister responsible for Forest, Environment, Science and Technology, from 2008 to 2010.
Nadda did not seek re-election to the Legislative Assembly in 2012, and instead got elected to Rajya Sabha, Indian Parliament’s upper chamber. In 2014, during a cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made Nadda, the Minister of Health.
Nadda was appointed as the national working president of the BJP in June 2019. On 20 January 2020, he was elected unanimously as the BJP National President, a role he took from Amit Shah.
In January 2021 in Bardhaman, West Bengal, Nadda started a new scheme Ek Muthi Chaawal Yojana.