Veteran BJP leader Jual Oram, a prominent tribal figure from Odisha, has been inducted into the Narendra Modi 3.0 government as a central minister.
The 63-year-old leader, hailing from Sundargarh district, has a distinguished career, being the country's first tribal affairs minister under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Oram's extensive political experience includes serving as both an MLA and an MP.
His early successes came from the tribal-dominated Bonai assembly constituency, where he secured victories in 1990 and 1995.
He later represented Sundargarh in the Lok Sabha for six terms and led the BJP's Odisha unit three times.
Despite a setback in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, where he was defeated by former Congress chief minister Hemananda Biswal, Oram's resilience shone through in 2014.
While the BJP lost 20 of 21 parliamentary seats in Odisha, Oram won Sundargarh, defeating BJD nominee and Indian hockey player Dilip Tirkey.
This victory earned him a ministerial berth in Modi's cabinet.
In 2019, Oram once again triumphed in Sundargarh, defeating BJD's Sunita Biswal.
However, he did not receive a ministerial position then. This election season, Oram faced Tirkey again, confidently stating, “He was the captain in Hockey, but I am a seasoned player in politics.”
Oram defeated Tirkey by a margin of 1,38,808 votes, marking his return to the Union Cabinet.
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