Associated with the RSS from childhood, Virendra Kumar is a six-time Lok Sabha member from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and the BJP’s Dalit face.
The 63-year-old is passionate about the cause of cow protection and is closely associated with the successful management and functioning of the Gau Seva Sangh Sanstha in Sagar town of Madhya Pradesh.
Kumar is known for his simplicity and is often seen taking a lift from anyone in the town to reach his destination.
Even when he comes from Delhi, he just gets down at the station like any common man and take an auto-rickshaw to reach his home,” his close associate said.
He still roams around in his constituency on a scooter and stays away from all kinds of security paraphernalia usually associated with the post.
Born on February 27, 1954, Kumar became MP for the first time in 1996 in the 11th Lok Sabha from Sagar. Since then he has never looked back and won from Sagar till 2004.
After delimitation he won the lower house elections from Tikamgarh seat in 2009 and 2014.
Among the six elections that he had won, three were held in a gap of just three years –1996, 1998 and 1999.
An M.A in Economics and Ph.D in Child Labour from the prestigious Dr Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar, Kumar started his career as an RSS worker and actively participated in the Total Revolution Movement started by Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan in 1975.
He was sentenced for 16 months under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in Sagar and Jabalpur jails.
Kumar joined politics in 1982 and since then he was closely associated with national, state, local movements and programme initiated by the BJP.
Before becoming an MP, Kumar held various positions in ABVP and Bajrang Dal
He was a member of various standing committees including on Labour welfare, SC/ST welfare and was chairperson on standing committee on energy since September 1, 2016.