East Delhi MP is now a Central Minister

East Delhi Lok Sabha MP Harsh Malhotra

was sworn-in as a Union Minister of State (MoS) in the NDA government. Harsh Malhotra is a first-time MP and he was picked as the BJP candidate from the East Delhi constituency in place of BJP’s sitting MP Gautam Gambhir. Malhotra defeated the Aam Aadmi Party candidate Kuldeep Kumar in Lok Sabha election 2024. This is quite a surprise because Malhotra was picked ahead of West Delhi MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat and even the North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari. Some Dilliwalahs were also pinning their hopes on the daughter of late Mrs Sushma Swaraj, Bansuri Swaraj.

Harsh Malhotra was the Mayor of the erstwhile East Delhi Municipal Corporation. He currently holds the post of general secretary of the BJP’s Delhi unit. He is a Botany graduate and holds a law degree from Delhi University. Malhotra will be the MoS in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs as well as in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. In the last NDA government the New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi was the only city MP in the Council of Ministers. She served as MoS in the External Affairs and Culture Ministries. Ms Lekhi was among the 54 sitting MPs who were denied tickets by the BJP in these elections.