Veteran BJP Leader Faggan Singh Kulaste Rejects Junior Minister Role

MP Faggan Singh Kulaste, excluded from Modi’s council of ministers, refused to be a junior minister again. With three prior terms as Minister of State, the 65-year-old BJP leader sought a cabinet position instead. Kulaste has a long political history, having won the Mandla Lok Sabha seat seven times.

MP Faggan Singh Kulaste, excluded from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest council of ministers, has declined the offer to serve as a junior minister for a fourth time. Kulaste, a seasoned BJP leader, expressed his preference for a cabinet position over another term as Minister of State (MoS).

Addressing his exclusion, Kulaste, who has represented the Mandla Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh seven times, stated his stance clearly. “I have been an MoS three times. It's not appropriate to become an MoS for the fourth time,” he emphasized while thanking voters in Mandla's Niwas area.

At 65, Kulaste has held various MoS roles, including positions in Rural Development, Health and Family Welfare, and Tribal and Parliamentary Affairs, under different administrations. Notably, he was previously linked to the 2008 “cash-for-vote” scandal during a critical trust vote in Parliament.