Quick Facts
Biography
Manoj Sinha is a minister of communication (independent charge) and minister of state for railways. He is a civil engineer. He was a student of IIT BHU He maintains a low-profile image, wears his trademark dhoti and long kurta. Sinha is a three-time BJP MP in Lok Sabha. He represents Ghazipur in the Lower House. As the junior minister for railways, Sinha handled key assignments including the task to connect several cities in eastern Uttar Pradesh. In his last meeting in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Sinha for his work and commitment as the railway minister.
Early life and education
Manoj Sinha was born on 1 July 1959 in a Bhumihar Bramhin family in Mohanpura, Ghazipur District, India. He has a B.Tech And M.Tech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi (earlier called IT-BHU). During his student days, Sinha was the students’ union president in the Banaras Hindu University.
Politics
His political career began when he was elected the president of Banaras Hindu University Students Union in 1982. He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996 and repeated the term in 1999. Sinha has been a member of the BJP national council from 1989 to 1996. He was elected to the Lower House for a third term in national politics when the BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.
Prior to joining active politics, he was a member of the General Council, School of Planning during 1999-2000. He has also been a member of committee on Energy and member of committee on Government Assurances.
He was inducted as a member of the BJP National Council in 1989. He was elected for successive terms in 1996 & 1999 and again in 2014 to the Lok Sabha from Ghazipur Constituency in Uttar Pradesh. He was made the Minister of State for the Railways Ministry in the first set of ministers inducted into Narendra Modi government in May 2014. In July 2016, during the second cabinet reshuffle, he was also made Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Communications Ministry.
An agriculturalist at heart and a silent performer who consciously maintains a low profile, Sinha has been among the best performing members of Parliament in the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999.
Recently, he was counted among the seven most honest MPs by a leading magazine. Sinha, a civil engineer and an IIT-BHU alumnus, has set a rare example by utilising his entire MPLAD Fund for the welfare of the people of his constituency.
He is both recognised for a strong ability to connect with masses, especially at the rural level along with being a firm administrator.
Personal life
Manoj Sinha married Ms Neelam Sinha on 8 May 1977. They have a daughter and son.