Of the 11 ministers who were administered oath on Wednesday, the Kangra district got four berths in the Jai Ram Thakur government. Sarveen Chaudhary, Vipin Parmar, Bikram Singh and Kishan Kapoor are the four MLAs from Kangra chosen to be ministers.

Seraj MLA Jai Ram Thakur took oath as the 14^th chief minister of Himachal Pradesh in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. Mandi district also got two cabinet berths in Mahender Singh and Anil Sharma.

Other who took oath as ministers are: Ram Lal Markanday (Lahaul-Spiti), Suresh Bhardwaj (Shimla Urban), Rajiv Saizal (Kasauli), Govind Thakur (Manali),  and Virender Kanwar (Kutlehar, Una).

Know the ministers

Mahender Singh

He was born on 22 February 1950. Resident of Richhi village in Mandi district, he was elected to the state legislative Assembly in 1990 as an Independent. He has been an MLA since then without losing an election. For being elected to the Assembly in five consecutive elections on five different election symbols,his name was recommended for entry in the Guinness Book of World Records.

He had been the Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and PWD.

Kishan Kapoor

He was born on 25 June 1951. He was a member of Bharatiya Jan Sangh and Janata Party before being associated with the BJP. He was first elected to the legislative Assembly in 1990 as a BJP candidate, and remained an MLA thrice thereafter in 1993, 1998, 2007. This will be his fifth term as a legislator. He had held the portfolio of Transport Minister in the past.

Suresh Bhardwaj

Born on 15 March 1952, this lawyer-politician was active as a student leader and held the post of National Secretary of ABVP in 1973-74. He was first elected to the legislative Assembly in 1990 and to went to Rajya Sabha in 2002. He got elected as an MLA in 2007 and appointed Himachal chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He also won the Assembly election in 2012. He belongs to Rohru tehsil in Shimla district,

Anil Sharma

Born on 30 June 1956, he was elected to legislative Assembly in November 1993 and remained Minister of State for Youth Services, Sports and Forest (1993-96). He was a Rajya Sabha member (1998-2004). He got elected to the Assembly in 2007 and 2012 and remained Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister. He belongs to Mandi district.

Sarveen Chaudhary

She has been associated with RSS before joining politics. She was first elected to the state Assembly on a BJP ticket in 1998 and was re-elected in 2007 and 2012 and 2017. She was associated with the Mahila Morcha and remained president of Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kangra unit. She belongs to Shahpur in Kangra.

Ram Lal Markanda

This 51-year-old MLA from Lahaul Spiti was first elected to the legislative assembly on a now-defunct Himachal Vikas Party ticket in 1998. He entered the Vidhan Sabha in 2007 on a BJP ticket. He remained Minister of State for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (Independent charge) and  Minister of State for Animal Husbandry (Independent Charge).

Vipin Singh Parmar

He has been a RSS worker and an activist of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. The 53-year-old MLA has studied law. He was elected to the state legislative Assembly in 1998, 2007and 2017. He comes from Palampur in Kangra district.

Virender Kanwar

He too comes from a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh background. He started as a student leader, moved on to the the youth wing of the BJP before entering the parent party. He was a member of the Una Zila Parishad. The 53-year-old lawyer was elected to the Vidhan Sabha in 2003 and 2007. This is his third term as a MLA.

Bikram Singh

He was elected to the legislative Assembly in 2003 from Jaswan Assembly segment which has now been renamed as Jaswan-Pragpur after delimitation. He entered the Vidhan Sabha again in 2012 and this is his third term.

Govind Singh Thakur

The three-time Manali MLA is the son of ex-minister Kunj Lal Thakur. Born on 3 October 1968, Govind Singh Thakur remained the state president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He has won three consecutive assembly elections since 2007.

Rajiv Saizal

The three-time MLA was first elected to legislative Assembly in 2007 and then in 2012. This is his third term. He is a legislator from Kasauli in Solan district.