Arjun Munda

Arjun Munda(born 3 May 1968;Hindi pronunciation:[əɾd͡ʒʊn̪mʊɳɖaː]) is an Indian politician. He is a member of theBharatiya Janata Party,  a formerChief Ministerof theIndian stateofJharkhandand the formerMinister of Tribal AffairsandMinister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfarein theSecond Modi ministry. He has also served as a member of parliament, having been elected to the15th Lok Sabhafrom theJamshedpurconstituency in the2009 parliamentary elections. The BJP has appointed him as one of the general secretary of the party.
He lost his seat toDashrath GagraiofJharkhand Mukti Morchaby 11,966 votes in Kharasawan in a 2014 state assembly election.
Arjun Munda was born on 3 May 1968 in Khrangajhar,Jamshedpurto Ganesh and Saira Munda.After completing high school education in the Jamshedpur area, he graduated fromRanchi Universityand went on to earn a PG Diploma in Social Sciences fromIndira Gandhi National Open University.
Munda began his political career in his teens during early 1980s when he joined the Jharkhand movement spearheaded byJharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM) which sought to create a separate state fortribalsfrom the southern regions ofBihar. A believer in the welfare of indigenous people of his region, Munda felt passionate about the issue and took an active part in the movement. Soon his political influence grew due to his inclusive philosophy and he was elected to theBihar Legislative AssemblyfromKharsawanconstituency in 1995 on a JMM ticket.
TheNational Democratic Alliance(NDA) strongly espoused the cause of Jharkhand and ran on a promise to create the state. Munda was attracted to the aspectsof selfless nation building and sacrifice in the ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He believed in its policy of championing the cause of Jharkhand and joined the BJP. He was elected again to theBihar Assemblyin 2000 elections on a BJP ticket from his old constituency ofKharsawan. After Jharkhand's formation, he was elected to theJharkhand Assemblyfrom the same constituency in 2005 and again in the 2011 by-election after assuming responsibility as the Chief Minister in September 2010.
When the NDA government came to power in 1999 under the leadership ofAtal Bihari Vajpayee, it kept its promise and created Jharkhand along withUttarakhandandChhattisgarh. Munda became the Tribal Welfare Minister in the 1stBabulal Marandi-led NDA coalition government of Jharkhand, which was carved out from Bihar on 15 November 2000. As welfare minister, he crafted many policies and programs to ameliorate a lot of the poor and downtrodden. His vision, his work ethic, and his performance matrix soon catapulted him to the top leadership grade and his popularity and support base soared meteorically. His inclusive philosophy and his commitment to Jharkhand's high growth and development made him chief minister in 2003 at the young age of 35 when he was chosen as the consensus candidate to lead the state in the aftermath ofBabulal Marandi's divisivedomicilepolicy.
He took the oath as union minister in Narendra Modi's second cabinet on 30 May 2019 and became the Minister of Tribal Affairs.
Arjun Munda defused the tension that was created due to the "Domicile movement"in 2001–2002 and insisted that every citizen of India had the fundamental right granted by the Indian Constitution to live and work in any part of the country.
During his tenure, Jharkhand got the 1stLokayuktaand the State successfully conducted the34th National Games in 2011.
A 32-year-long jinx was brokenwhen Jharkhand scripted history by conducting panchayat elections and empowered PRIs for participatory governance.
His government introduced an e-tender system in government contracts to bring transparency and efficiency and to provide equal opportunity in the procurement process.
He also took initiatives for setting up of new power plants with a view to making Jharkhand a power surplus state.
He introduced some of the famous welfare schemes and programs that were later emulated by other Indian states, such as:
An avid golfer, Munda is also interested in promoting archery at national and international levels. He plays flute and almost all tribal musical instruments widely used in the area.He has 3 sons.
Munda is a multi-linguist who speaks English,Hindi,Bengali,Odia,Santhali,Mundari,Ho,Oraon.