Four-time MP from Dharwad constituency in north Karnataka, veteran politician Pralhad Joshi of the BJP has been allotted the portfolio of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines. Pralhad Joshi is one of the three MPs from Karnataka to make his way into the Union cabinet in the Narendra Modi-led government.
The 57-year-old is one of the three MPs from Karnataka to make his way into the Union cabinet alongside DV Sadananda Gowda and Suresh Angadi. The heavyweight from the BJP has never lost since 2004 from the Dharwad seat winning four consecutive times.
This time, he prevailed against Congress’ former minister Vinay Kularni by a margin of more than two lakh votes. In his previous terms, he has been part of several parliamentary committees including the Committee on Chemicals & Fertilizers, Joint Parliamentary Committee on Wakf, Committee on Transport, Tourism & Culture and also the Committee on Railways among others.
He was also part of the Indian delegation to the 63rd Session of the General Assembly in the United Nations in 2008 where he spoke against the atrocities on women and children. Prior to this, he was also touted to be one of the candidates for the Speaker’s position for the Lower House of the Indian Parliament.
Before being an MP, he had held the position of General Secretary, Karnataka State Unit of the BJP. He was inducted into the RSS at an early age and he was part of the infamous Idgah Maidan agitation in which a group of BJP leaders hoisted the national flag in Kittur Channamma Circle (Idgah Maidan) in Hubballi in 1992. The agitation was led by BJP leaders Uma Bharathi and BS Yeddyurappa and helped the BJP to become popular in northern Karnataka.
He was made the district President of the BJP in Dharwad from 1995-1998. In 2004, Pralhad contested the Lok Sabha Elections from the then Dharwad (North) constituency and defeated Congress leader BS Patil. He subsequently won from the Dharward constituency in 2009, 2014 and 2019.
Some of the issues on which he has been vocal as a lawmaker has been expansion and modernisation of railway services in north Karnataka and crop insurance schemes. In 2013, he was made the President of the BJP’s Karnataka unit and completed his term of three years. Later, in 2018, Pralhad courted controversy when he likened Sadarsofa, a Muslim-dominated area in Hubballi to Pakistan