Mansukh Mandaviya

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mansukh Mandaviya

• Mansukh was born in a middle-class farmer family in Hanol village, Palitana taluka, Bhavnagar district, Gujarat.

• While he was pursuing post-graduation, he joined Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of BJP. Soon after he joined ABVP, he was made the State Executive Member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad, Gujarat.

• In 2004, as an MLA from Palitana, he organised a padayatra (of 123 km in 49 villages of his constituency) in support of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign by the Government of India. The padayatra was titled,
  

  Kanya Kelavani Jyot Padyatra”

  

• In 2006, in support of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign again, he organized another padayatra of 27 Km in 52 villages of his constituency, which was titled,
  

  Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, Vyasan Hatao”

  

• As the Chairman of Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation Limited, Mansukh oversaw an e-radiation treatment plant at Bavla, the first government facility there. He also administered the construction of the Poha (flattened rice) plant in Navsari, a modern banana packhouse in Achhalia (Bharuch), and a bio-fertilizer plant in Gondal.

• After becoming a Rajya Sabha member in 2012, Mansukh Mandaviya raised many significant issues of Gujarat in the Parliament.

• As the Gujarat State In-Charge for the BJP Mega Membership Drive, Madaviya led a massive membership drive in Gujarat, adding one crore people with BJP.

• In his first term as a Rajya Sabha member, the Government of India gave assurances to 86 out of 448 parliamentary questions raised by him. He also served in the standing committees of various fields like Petroleum and Natural Gas, Chemical & Fertilizer Industries, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Textiles, and Select Committee for Real Estate Bill-2015.

• As a Minister of State, Mandaviya travelled to 14 countries and almost all the Indian states and Union territories for 540 days, covering more than 4.9 lakh km of distance. Madaviya managed 394 meetings and attended 332 programs/seminars/workshops/events.

• As a Minister of State, he also urged the execution of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJAP), which saw a rapid increase in PMBJAP kendras from 347 to more than 5200.

  

• Mansukh has been part of delegations to sign MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding) and develop bilateral relations with other nations with the President of India two times and the Vice President of India one time.

• As a part of his work, he has travelled to Asian countries like China, Israel, Oman, Nepal, Dubai, and Uzbekistan. He has also visited countries like England, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Algeria, Hungary, Equatorial Guinea, Swaziland, Zambia, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, and Australia.

• Mansukh Madaviya often spends his time bicycling, reading, and travelling.

• In 2015, he was given an opportunity to represent India at the United Nations, where he spoke about the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.’

• He is an advocate of environment-friendly practices and often goes to Parliament on the bicycle. In 2016, he hit the headlines after he arrived at the Parliament for his swearing-in ceremony to Narendra Modi‘s Council of Ministers, along with Arjun Ram Meghwal (Indian politician and Member of the Lok Sabha). In 2019, he was in the headlines again for riding the bicycle to the Parliament for his swearing-in ceremony to the Council of Ministers. While talking about cycling in an interview, he said,
  

  It’s not a fashion to cycle. It is my passion. It is eco-friendly, it saves fuel and keeps you physically healthy”

  

• After BJP won the 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election, out of all the names for the Chief Ministerial post of Gujarat, Mandaviya’s name was constantly surfacing on the news. According to a BJP source,
  

  He is a simple man. He uses a cycle to reach Rajya Sabha. His family members still use the state transport buses to commute in Gujarat. He is well accepted in both RSS and BJP circles. Moreover, his loyalty is clearly to Modi, which makes him a frontrunner.”

• In 2019, as a part of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, Mansukh undertook a 50 km-long padayatra, which was inaugurated by tree plantations. In his speech before the padayatra, Mansukh talked about the relationship between Gandhian thoughts and nature. On the occasion, he also flagged off the 22,000 km and 3-month long bike journey of three youngsters from Surat.

  

• In 2019, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) honoured Mansukh for his efforts towards women’s menstrual hygiene by employing Jan Aushadhi Kendras to sell 10 crore sanitary pads, which were produced from oxo-biodegradable technology, at a nominal price.

• Mansukh is known to always have a favour of Narendra Modi as Modi has often addressed his name in his speeches.