Veteran Tribal Leader Jual Oram Joins Narendra Modi's Cabinet

Veteran BJP leader Jual Oram from Odisha was inducted into Narendra Modi's government as a central minister. Oram, with extensive political experience, notably as the first Minister of Tribal Affairs, has displayed resilience throughout his career with significant electoral wins despite previous defeats.

Veteran BJP leader Jual Oram, a prominent figure in Odisha's tribal leadership, was inducted into Narendra Modi's government as a central minister on Sunday.

At 63, Oram, representing Odisha's Sundargarh district, has the distinction of being India's first tribal affairs minister, a ministry established under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership.

With a rich political background as both an MLA and MP, Oram boasts successive victories, including six terms in the Lok Sabha from Sundargarh. He has also led the BJP's Odisha unit three times. Despite a defeat in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Oram's resilience shone in his 2014 electoral win, securing a ministerial berth in Modi's cabinet. His continued success included defeating BJD's Sunita Biswal in 2019 and, most recently, Indian hockey player Dilip Tirkey by a significant margin.