Madhya Pradesh: PM Modi extends birthday greetings to Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on his birthday.

PM Modi also lauded him for his work ensuring a vibrant aviation sector with a focus on connectivity.

"Birthday greetings to Union Minister Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia Ji, who is working to ensure a vibrant aviation sector with a focus on connectivity and boost the steel sector. May Almighty bless him with a long and healthy life," PM Modi tweeted.

Born on 1 January 1971, Scindia is a grandson of Jivajirao Scindia, the last Maharaja of the princely state of Gwalior. His father Madhavrao Scindia was also a politician and a minister in the government of Rajiv Gandhi.

Back in the year 2020, Scindia ended his 18-year-old association with Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the year 2021, Scindia was given the portfolio of the Civil Aviation Ministry.

He replaced Hardeep Singh Puri, who has been elevated as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and will also hold the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.

Scindia, a five-time MP had under the Congress-led UPA I government been the Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and in the UPA II government served as the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.

Scindia played a key role in BJP's return to power in Madhya Pradesh last year after Congress ruled the state for 15 months.

Articulate and charismatic, Scindia, is a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh. He was the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in the UPA-II government between 2009 and 2012. Scindia was the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Power between 2012 and 2014.

Belonging to the Gwalior royal family, Scindia was first elected to Lok Sabha from Guna in 2002 after his father Madhavrao Scindia died in an aeroplane crash.

Madhavrao Scindia was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971 at the age of 26 and went on to win nine consecutive elections from the Gwalior and Guna constituencies.

Jyotirdaditya Scindia suffered a shocking defeat from Guna parliamentary seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He has been president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. The BJP leader has an MBA from Stanford University and BA from Harvard University.