Pankaj Choudhary: From civic body member to six-time MP

A six-time Lok Sabha MP, Pankaj Choudhary brings with him a wealth of experience in the Union council of ministers. Sworn in on Wednesday as a Union minister, Choudhary (56) began his political career in 1989-91 as a member of the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation, soon to become it's deputy mayor.

He became a member of the BJP working committee in 1990. He was elected for the first time to the lower house of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj in 1991.

He was re-elected from the constituency in 1996 and 1998.


Choudhary, however, lost to Akhilesh Singh of the Samajwadi Party in the 1999 General Election. He later won the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

In 2009, he lost to the Congress candidate from Maharajganj.

In 2014, Choudhary won from the same constituency and again in 2019 to become a member of the Lok Sabha for the sixth time.