Govt's In-charge for Drinking Water to All by 2024, Gajendra Shekhawat's Career Has Been Development-driven

Shekhawat will be a key guest at Network18 and Reckitt’s Mission Paani event on World Toilet Day on November 19. On the latest season of Harpic – News18’s Mission Paani, the initiative will start a revolutionary pledge to uphold India’s first-ever Preamble to ensure sustainable sanitation for all citizens.

In 2019, the Centre established the Jal Shakti Ministry, which merged the former Ministries of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation. After the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the NDA government’s next major flagship programme was the Jal Shakti Mission, which includes plans for water conservation and the provision of piped water connections to every household by 2024.

As Jal Shakti Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is at the heart of the Mission’s implementation, with work ongoing in over 250 water-stressed districts.

Hailing from Rajasthan, Shekhawat’s long political career began in student politics when in 1992, he was elected as president of the Student Union at JNVU University, gaining more votes than any other previous Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad supporter.

Shekhawat was named National General Secretary of the BJP Kisan Morcha, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s farmers wing. He was also a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajasthan State Executive.

He was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014 with the highest ever winning margin (4,10,051 votes) from the Jodhpur constituency. One of his major accomplishments as an MP has been the expansion of the Jodhpur Airport.

Shekhawat is the most followed Indian politician on Quora, and he is well-known for his use of social media. His Quora profile has over 73,380 followers, and his answers have been viewed 6.5 million times on the social media platform.

Before entering electoral politics, Shekhawat held numerous positions in various forums and organisations, including co-convener of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, the Sangh Parivar’s economic wing, and General Secretary of Seema Jan Kalyan Samiti, an organisation dedicated to strengthening national security through the development of border towns and villages.

As General Secretary, he was instrumental in establishing a second line of defence comprised of civilians living near the Rajasthan border. He also played a role in expanding the reach of civil defence by establishing 40 schools and four hostels along the Indo-Pak border.

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