Manoj Sinha profile: How this IITian became the front runner for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister post

Lucknow, March 17: BJP leader Manoj Sinha is considered as the favourite among the key contenders for the post of Uttar Pradesh chief minister. However, the party has, as of yet, not made any announcement regarding the same even as reports say that his name has almost been finalised for the post. The Bhartiya Janata Party has registered a massive victory in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2017 by winning over 300 seats single-handedly in the 403-seat Assembly.

If reports are to be believed, the BJP will announce the name of the next Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister around 4 pm on Saturday while the oath-taking ceremony is likely to take place on Sunday.

Manoj Sinha shares a great rapport with the central leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh. He entered into politics as a student leader in 1982, when at the age of 23, he became the president of the Banaras Hindu University Students’ Union. However, it was in 1998 when he got the big break and was elected to the Lok Sabha. He was again elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999 after which he returned to the Parliament only in 2014. Following this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed faith in him and appointed him to the Cabinet. During the 2017 Assembly campaign, he was one among the star campaigners of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

Sinha has a ‘Mr. Clean’ image and is believed to be a no-nonsense, work-oriented minister. As reported by CNN-News18, sources close to Sinha said that during his time as Minister of State (MoS) Railways, he often “picked up the slack” when Cabinet Minister Suresh Prabhu made some blunder. “Suresh Prabhu confined himself to bringing in new technology while Sinha was largely looking after the day-to-day affairs. He impressed Modi during his time in railways and that is why he was given independent charge of Telecom Ministry after the Cabinet reshuffle,” a source said.

Some key highlights of Manoj Sinha’s life

– Manoj Sinha, a Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament (MP) from the Ghazipur constituency in Uttar Pradesh, is currently serving as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Communications.

– Born on July 1, 1959 in Mohanpura in the Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh, Sinha did his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi.

– He completed his M.Tech in Civil Engineering from the same Institute.

– Before joining active politics, he was a member of the General Council, School of Planning during 1999-2000. He has also been a Member of Committee on Energy and another Committee on Government Assurances.

– An agriculturist at heart, Sinha has been actively involved in working in backward villages where his interests primarily lie.

– His wife Neelam Sinha belongs to Maghara Bihar Sharif in Bihar’s Nalanda district and the couple is blessed with a son and a daughter.