Anurag Thakur

Anurag Thakur
Member of Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 2014
Constituency	Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh
Personal details
Born	(1974-10-24) 24 October 1974
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse	Shefali Thakur
Residence(s)	Samirpur, Hamirpur District, Himachal Pradesh
Alma mater	Doaba College, Jalandhar
Occupation	(President) Board of Control for Cricket in India, Member of Parliament

Anurag Singh Thakur is a member of Lok Sabha from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh in India. He is the son of Prem Kumar Dhumal, the former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He is third time MP. Member of 14, 15 and 16th Loksabha.He was first elected to Lok Sabha in May 2008 in a by poll as a candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party. He won once again from Hamirpur representing BJP in 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. He was elected as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in May 2016. He was elected as the new BCCI president unopposed in May 2016. He took over from Shashank Manohar, former BCCI President after he left the post in the middle of his tenure to be elected as ICC President. Thakur has become the 2nd youngest president at the age of 41 in BCCI (first being Fateh Singh Gaekwad, who became the BCCI president in 1963 at the age of 33).

Early life and education

Anurag Thakur was born on 24 October 1974 at Hamirpur. He is the eldest son of Prem Kumar Dhumal and Sheela Devi. He studied at Dayanand Model School, Jalandhar. He later completed his BA from Doaba College, Jalandhar.

Political career

In May 2008, Thakur succeeded his father when he was elected as Member of Parliament of India's 14th Lok Sabha from Hamirpur constituency. He was re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha in 2009, and again re-elected in 2014 to the 16th Loksabha. Later, Thakur was appointed the president of the All India Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. Anurag Thakur Successfully led march from Kolkata to Lal Chowk in Srinagar under the banner of “Rashtriya Ekta Yatra” Sponsored by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) to unfurl the National Flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on 26 January 2011. He is the next bright face of BJP for CM candidate in next state election in Himachal Pradesh.

Mr Anurag Thakur is a 3rd time elected Member of Parliament (LS) from the Hamirpur constituency in Himachal Pradesh--Member of Parliament (M.P) – 16th Lok Sabha (Won by a record margin) (Hamirpur,HP)

Mr Thakur is one of the youngest Parliamentarians in India today and has the distinction of receiving the Best Young Parliamentarian Award in 2011. Mr Thakur has been recognized as a “Young Global Leader 2014” by the World Economic Forum, featured in the Financial Times ‘25 Indians to Watch’ list and described by the India Today magazine as one of the "Navratna's of Narendra Modi".

A recent CNN-IBN & IBN 7 survey recognized Mr Thakur’s excellent performance as a grassroots social reformer rating him 7.66/10 which was the 2nd highest among all MP’s in India. The findings of the India Today Group national survey on Aaj Tak & Headlines Today evaluated the performance of MPs in parliament and society, placing Mr Thakur amongst India’s Top 10 MP’s (8th India & 1st Himachal Pradesh).

He completed his schooling and college from Jalandhar, Punjab. He enjoys working for the welfare of his constituency, travelling, listening to old Hindi songs and sports.

A Parliamentarian:

Member of Parliament (M.P) – 14th LokSabha (Won by a record Margin) (Hamirpur,HP) Member of Parliament (M.P) – 15thLokSabha (Won by a record margin) (Hamirpur,HP) Member of Parliament (M.P) – 16th LokSabha (Won by a record margin) (Hamirpur,HP) Chairman- Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT Member- Public Accounts Committee Parliamentary Party Spokesperson in Lok Sabha (Lower House) Member of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for Power

Mr Anurag Thakur’s attendance in Parliament is an impressive 85 %, participation in debates 72 and total number of questions raised stands at a staggering 612, all of which are the highest among young MPs.

Mr Thakur has raised numerous socio-political, finance, national security and corruption (CWG scam) issues in the house. He has been the Lead Speaker for the Opposition during the Rail Budget debate in the Lok Sabha and has the privilege of being the only other speaker along with Mr LK Advani on the issue of black money.

Mr Thakur has raised the issue of introduction of new trains and extension of rail links to Himachal, One Rank One Pension for ex-servicemen, setting up of premier technical institutes & a central university, the extension/maintenance of national highways in the state and the need for a National Board for the Development of Himalyan States.

Cricket career

Mr Thakur began his cricketing career at the age of 14 and was selected to the U-19 team that played against England at Delhi and Patiala. He was the Captain of the Punjab U-19 cricket team and North Zone U-19 team that won the All India Championship. His passion for cricket is clearly seen in the creation of the picturesque International Level Cricket Stadium at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. Being a sports enthusiast, he has actively helped in the development of stadiums, playgrounds and sports facilities in the state of Himachal Pradesh. He has played one match in first-class cricket representing Himachal Pradesh and leading the team as captain in a match against Jammu and Kashmir in the 2000/2001 season. Jammu and Kashmir won by 4 wickets.

Cricket administrator

He is the current President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Early on in his administrative tenure, he gained fame for possibly being the first cricketer to have made his first-class debut after taking over as the president of the state cricket association. This debut was his one and only first-class cricket match. This experience in first-class cricket enabled his induction into the BCCI national junior selection committee, satisfying the condition that only first-class players could be national selectors.

Thakur has continued to rise up the ranks to the position of Secretary for BCCI. He successful removed those people who were denting the image of cricket and the BCCI. On 22 May 2016,Thakur became the president of BCCI, unopposed and had announced lots of new reform in BCCI.

A Social Reformer

Mr Thakur is the Founder of the Honour Our Women (HOW) Foundation, an initiative that works for creating social awareness about womens issues, safety and empowerment through seminars, street plays and involvement of various civil society stakeholders, celebrities, journalists and parliamentarians.

Mr Thakur has worked at the grassroots for the socio-economic development of his constituency Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh. He has sanctioned the construction of an Arts & Culture Centre that will encourage and nurture acting, singing talent in the constituency. He has pledged Rs 1 Crore for the construction of a War Memorial & Museum in honour of Himachal Pradesh’s ex-servicemen and brave soldiers. A Training Academy for the youth is also in the pipeline that will facilitate their educational, skill building and professional training needs.

Mr Thakur has focused on fulfilling local community needs through the MPLADS fund and constructed community centres, mahila mandal bhavans, yuvak mandal bhawan, sarais, shamshan ghats, path/link roads, solar lighting and playgrounds for his constituents. He has helped individuals find employment by holding job fairs in the constituency and continues to facilitate them outside the state through various organizations. He has also strongly pursued the introduction of new trains, namely the Nanded Sahib Express, Haridwar Express, Janshatabdi and Himachal Express. Through his efforts the extension of the Nangal-Una-Talwara Rail line upto Amb-Indora was also made possible.

Personal life

He is married to Shefali Thakur, daughter of Gulab Singh Thakur, former Public Works Department minister in the government of Himachal Pradesh, on 27 November 2002.

References

• [1]
• New cricket stadium in Himachal Pradesh dedicated to Vajpayee

External links

• Anurag Singh Thakur at Government of India website
• Anurag Thakur at ESPNcricinfo