Ajay Tamta: Lawmaker from Uttarakhand in union ministerial council (Profile)

New Delhi, July 5: Ajay Tamta is among the few MPs to have bagged a berth in the union council of ministers in his maiden term as a parliamentarian. The 44-year-old leader from Almora in Uttarakhand, who takes pride in being part of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, was formerly a member of the BJP executive.

Tamta, who started off his political career in the early 1990s, was elected from the Almora parliamentary constituency Reserved for Scheduled Castes. He took oath on Tuesday as Minister of State in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministerial council.

Tamta, who owns a transport business, was elected for the first time to the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly in 2007 and served as junior state minister for the first two years, before being elevated as cabinet minister.

After his re-election in the state assembly in 2012, Tamta could serve only for two years, as the BJP wanted him to contest for the Lok Sabha from the Almora constituency, due to his strong public support base in the area.

After his name was chosen to be inducted in Prime Minister Modi's council, Tamta said the BJP has given him the opportunity because of his dedicated work for the party, besides his good work during his ministership in Uttarakhand in the past decade.

Tamta, who has studied up to the higher secondary level with science subjects, was married in 2011 to Sonal, a housewife. He has a daughter and a son.

IANS