Niranjan Jyoti

Niranjan Jyoti Biography

Niranjan Jyoti is an Indian politician from UP associated with Bharatiya Janata party, and currently a parliamentarian too. She got elected to Lok Sabha in 2014 general elections representing BJP, and currently serves as a minister in the central government led by Narendra Modi. Previously a story teller, she is currently a minister who serves the position of Minister of State for Food Processing Industries since 8th November 2014. She represents the Fatehpur constituency, Uttar Pradesh in Lok Sabha. She earlier served as an MLA in Uttar Pradesh State Assembly representing Hamirpur constituency after winning 2012 state elections.

Niranjan Jyoti was born in 1967 in the village of Patewra in Uttar Pradesh to Achyutanand and Shiv Kali Devi. Her village belongs to Hamirpur district, Uttar Pradesh. She belongs to the Nishad community of boatmen who live along major riverbank. Her community also forms a major vote bank in UP. She is a katha vachak - one who delivers religious sermons by profession, and she owns an ashram where she presents it. She entered Lok Sabha at the age of 47 in 2014, and it was her first stint in parliament. She won her debut election in 2012 from the Hamirpur assembly constituency, joining state legislative assembly.

She is the third backward caste minister from UP in Modi’s council, after Santosh Gangwar, MP from Bareilly) and Uma Bharti who represents Jhansi. Her induction to cabinet can attract backward caste votes in the 2017 assembly polls, that’s what BJP said then. After she got elected to Lok Sabha, she was attacked at a private function that she was attending in the Civil Lines area of Fatehpur district. She has also invited controversies for her public statements against politicians of Indian National Congress. Once she has apologized over a statement she made on 1st December 2014 at a public rally.

Published: October 04, 2018

Updated: October 04, 2018