Anurag Thakur
Anurag Singh Thakur (born 24 October 1974) is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party and a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. He is the current Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Second Modi ministry. His father, Prem Kumar Dhumal was a former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
Anurag Thakur | |
|---|---|
Thakur in 2023 | |
| Minister for Information and Broadcasting | |
| Assumed office 7 July 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Prakash Javadekar |
| Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports | |
| Assumed office 7 July 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Kiren Rijiju |
| Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs | |
| In office 31 May 2019 – 7 July 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Nirmala Sitharaman |
| Succeeded by | Bhagwat Karad Pankaj Chaudhary |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 25 May 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Prem Kumar Dhumal |
| Constituency | Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh |
| Majority | 3,99,572 (40.41%) |
| 33rd President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India | |
| In office 22 May 2016 – 2 January 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Shashank Manohar |
| Succeeded by | C. K. Khanna |
| President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha | |
| In office 2011–2016 | |
| Preceded by | Amit Thaker |
| Succeeded by | Poonam Mahajan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 October 1974 Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Sheffali Thakur |
| Residence(s) | Sameerpur, Hamirpur, Jaipur Himachal Pradesh |
| Alma mater | Doaba College (B.A.) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | India |
| Branch/service | Indian Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Territorial Army |
Previously, Thakur served as a Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in May 2008 in a by poll as a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Coming from a political family of Himachal Pradesh, he is a long serving, four time Member of Parliament, being a member of 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th Lok Sabha.
Previously, he was the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from May 2015 to February 2017, and had to leave that position after the Supreme Court order on BCCI governance. During his time as bcci president he operated for some time from West Bengal. On 29 July 2016, he became the first serving Member of Parliament from the BJP to become a regular commissioned officer in the Territorial Army. He was involved in a legal struggle between the Himachal Pradesh State Government and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association over the rights to the International Cricket Stadium at Dharamshala. There was also controversy over his appointment as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and he had to leave that position following a Supreme Court order. In March 2024, he was announced as the BJP candidate for the Hamirpur constituency in Himachal Pradesh for the 2024 General Elections.