A three-time chief minister of Jharkhand, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Arjun Munda is considered one of the most prominent tribal leaders in the state. The 51-year-old won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Khunti constituency by defeating Congress’s Kalicharan Munda by 1,445 votes.
An avid golfer, Munda began his political career in the early 1980s as a member of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and joined the movement for the creation of a separate state for tribals from the southern regions of Bihar.
He won the 1995 assembly elections held in the then undivided Bihar on a JMM ticket but joined the BJP in 2000.
In 2003, the then 35-year-old Munda, who comes from a family of farmers, became Jharkhand’s chief minister for the first time. He was elected to the Parliament in the 2009 general elections from Jamshedpur.
Munda earlier served as the Chief Minister of his state for three terms.
Having started his political career with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Munda first became a legislator in 1995. He joined the BJP before the 2000 Assembly polls and after getting elected as MLA became a Minister in the Babulal Marandi government.
He became Chief Minister at the age of 36 in 2003 and helmed the state till September 2006. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Jamshedpur in 2009 but resigned after becoming the Chief Minister for the third time in August 2010.
Born on May 3, 1968 to Ganesh Munda and Saira Munda in Kharanjhar area of Jamshedpur and Munda holds a PG diplma from IGNOU. He is married to Meera Munda and has three sons.
First Published: May 31, 2019 18:41 IST
