Biography

Kalraj Mishra, is the 44th Governor of the Rajasthan. He was a veteran Indian politician and a Sangh pracharak made his debut at the Centre in 2014. On May 27, he was appointed as the Cabinet Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) under PM Shri Narendra Modi’s prime ministership. He is the member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has been associated with Uttar Pradesh politics from a very long time. He believes that to work for the welfare of the society, position does not matter. An effective speaker and a great thinker, he did not mind playing a second lead to his colleagues.

Family and Personal Background of Kalraj Mishra

Shri Kalraj Mishra was born in a middle class Brahmin agriculturist family of a very small village Malikpur (Saidpur) of Gazipur District. His father used to teach in a near by school for his earning. Shri Kalraj Mishra who was the fourth son of his parents was born on 1st July 1941.

Political Career of Kalraj Mishra

In 1963 Kalraj Mishra joined RSS as a pracharak in Gorakhpur and with this started his political career. Looking at his devotion for the Sangh for five years , Kalraj Mishra was posted to Azamgarh as the organising secretary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh. He was given the complete charge of political workings in Azamgarh. At every stage he proved himself to be an effective leader.

During his career he occupied many positions in the government. Apart from being the party chief, he held the portfolios of Public Works, Medical Education and Tourism. He was elected as an MLA many times and was also appointed as a Rajya Sabha member. During his tenure, he formulated the Road Development Policy in UP under which many link roads to connect villages were constructed.

He was elected as the member of Rajya Sabha thrice in 1978, 2001 and 2006. Kalraj Mishra started a campaign wherein all state highways would be made crater free. He also played a major role in the formation of Uttarakhand. By his efforts and organisational capability he was able to make a good and competent organisation.

After serving as a minister under various governments in Uttar Pradesh, Kalraj Mishra fought direct elections in 2012 on the BJP ticket. He contended from Lucknow East assembly constituency and won the seat for BJP. Showing his commitment towards his constituency, he initiated many developmental projects.

Kalraj Mishra won the Parliament Elections 2014 from Deoria constituency and thereafter was appointed as a Cabinet Minister in the Modi government. In his first speech after being appointed, he said

“The objective of this ministry is to make the common man self-dependent. Optimum utilisation of human resources in the MSME sector and establishing a framework for this purpose is the need of the time and this ministry will work towards that goal. I aim to fulfil the expectations of the people”.

To allot Kalraj Mishra with the portfolio of MSME by BJP is seen as a positive step. Kalraj Mishra’s experience and his association with BJP from a long time will definitely serve as a catalyst in MSME sector. MSME accounts for 8% of the country’s total GDP. It is also one of the largest employment industries.

Early in his career, Kalraj Mishra was inspired by the JP Movement. He worked as a chairperson of ‘Sampurna Kranti’ meaning Total Revolution. The movement was started by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1974 in UP. With his increasing involvement in politics, in 1978 he was appointed as the National President of the All India Janata Yuva Morcha. From here on his political graph kept growing and he finally reached the position of Cabinet Minister.