Jai Ram Thakur (born 6 January 1965) is an Indian politician, and was the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of the state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

from 2017 to 2022. He is a five-time MLA in the

Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly The seat of the Vidhan Sabha is at Shimla, the capital of the state. The Vidhan Sabha comprises 68 Members of Legislative Assembly, which include 68 members directly elected from single-seat constituency. Its term is 5 years, unless sooner dissol ...

, winning continuously since 1998 and has previously served as a Cabinet Minister in the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

Government of Himachal Pradesh. Thakur was the Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj from 2009 to 2012. He is elected to Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Seraj Assembly constituency of

Mandi district Mandi district is one of the central districts of Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. The town of Mandi is the headquarters of the district. The main native language is Mandeali. As of 2011 it is the second most populous district of H ...

. He won his first election in the year 1998 from now delimited constituency of Chachiot (Seraj).

Early life and education

Jai Ram Thakur was born to a poor farming family in Village- Tandi, Tehsil- Thunag of Mandi; he was fourth among five siblings – two sisters and three brothers. His father's name is Jhethu Ram who used to work as mason and mother's name is Briku Devi. Thakur who spent his childhood in acute poverty attained his primary education from Kurani School. Then he did graduation

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from Vallabh Government College, Mandi, (Graduated in 1987). Later he did Post Graduation (

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

) from

Panjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

Family overview

Thakur is married to ABVP colleague Dr. Sadhana Thakur and they have two daughters. Sadhana is a doctor, born to a

Kannadiga The Kannada people or Kannadigaru IAST">nowiki/>IAST:_Kannadadavaru_or_Kannadigas_(English_term).html" ;"title="IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowiki/>IAST: Kannadadavaru or Kannadigas (English term)">IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowik ...

family in

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

and brought up there. The couple has two daughters. Both daughters are studying MBBS in

. Elder is already studying in Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda while younger got selected to Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College, Ner Chowk in the year 2018.

Politics

He was introduced to the

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) () is a right-wing all India student organisation affiliated to the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). History The ABVP, founded in 1948 with the initiative of the RSS a ...

during his graduation at Vallabh Government College Mandi, and won first election under the flag of ABVP, beginning his long association with the student organization. He remained Joint Secretary, State ABVP, 1986; Organizing Secretary, ABVP (J&K), 1989–93; State Secretary,

Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) (translation: Indian People's Youth Front) is the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the two major political parties in India. It was founded in 1978, and its first national president w ...

; 1993–95; President: State Bhartiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha, ii) B.J.P. District Mandi 2000–03; Vice President State BJP, 2003–05; and President State Bhartiya Janata Party 2006–09. Elected to State Legislative Assembly in 1998, and re-elected in 2003 and 2007 from Chachiot Assembly Constituency which after the delimitation has been renamed as Seraj. Remained Chairman, General Development Committee & Education Committee; and Vice-Chairman, State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. In the year 2009, he was inducted to the council of Ministers and given the portfolio of rural development and Panchayati raj. Also remained Chairman, Rural Planning Committee and Member of various other House Committees before being inducted into Council of Minister as Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister on 09-07-2012. Elected to the State Legislative Assembly for a consecutive fourth term in December 2012.

Chief Minister

In the 2017 Assembly elections, BJP won a two-thirds majority but its Chief Ministerial candidate

Prem Kumar Dhumal Prem Kumar Dhumal (pronounced ; born 10 April 1944) is an Indian politician and has twice served as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, from March 1998 to March 2003 and again from 1 January 2008 to 25 December 2012. He was the Bharatiya J ...

received a shocking defeat from the Sujanpur assembly segment. Considering Jai Ram's strong RSS connections and strong political profile, he was the favorite for the top post and was chosen to lead the state. He was the first to become Chief Minister from

and he served as the 6th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. After BJP lost the 2022 legislative elections, Thakur resigned but was asked to continue in his post by the Governor until a new Chief Minister was selected. On 11th December, his successor

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (born 27 March 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. As a member of Indian National Congress, he is a 4-time and incumbent MLA from Nadaun assembly constituency of Hima ...

took oath as

Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister ...

Gallery

File:The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Jai Ram Thakur calling on the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi on January 27, 2018.jpg, The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Jai Ram Thakur calling on the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi on January 27, 2018 File:The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Jai Ram Thakur calling the Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, in New Delhi on May 02, 2018.JPG, The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Jai Ram Thakur calling on the Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, in New Delhi on May 02, 2018 File:The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Jai Ram Thakur calling on the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar, in New Delhi on September 06, 2018.JPG, The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Jai Ram Thakur calling on the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar, in New Delhi on September 06, 2018 File:The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Jai Ram Thakur meeting the Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, in New Delhi on July 17, 2018 (1).JPG, The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Jai Ram Thakur meeting the Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, in New Delhi on July 17, 2018 File:Raj Kumar Singh releasing the booklet “State Distribution Utilities - Sixth Annual Integrated Rating”, at the Conference of Power and New & Renewable Energy Ministers of States & UTs, in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.JPG, Raj Kumar Singh releasing the booklet “State Distribution Utilities - Sixth Annual Integrated Rating”, at the Conference of Power and New & Renewable Energy Ministers of States & UTs, in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh File:The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu addressing the 9th Indian Youth Science Congress, in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh.jpg, The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu addressing the 9th Indian Youth Science Congress, in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh File:Prime Minister Modi participates in ‘Abhar Samaroh’, at Sissu, in Himachal Pradesh on October 03, 2020. The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh is also seen.jpg, Prime Minister Modi participates in ‘Abhar Samaroh’, at Sissu, in Himachal Pradesh on October 03, 2020. The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh is also seen File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi dedicates to the nation the World’s longest Highway tunnel - Atal Tunnel, in Manali, Himachal Pradesh on October 03, 2020 (1).jpg, The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi dedicates to the nation the World’s longest Highway tunnel - Atal Tunnel, in Manali, Himachal Pradesh on October 03, 2020

References