With just a few days left to file nominations for the upcoming general elections, BJP has announced candidates for over 200 Lok Sabha Constituencies. Featuring the list of candidates is Union minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is set to contest from the Patna Sahib Constituency in Bihar. Dislodging rouge BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha from possible candidature, fielding of Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib is a masterstroke by the BJP in the pivotal state of Bihar.
Ravi Shankar Prasad a prominent leader from Bihar, known for his impeccable oratory skills is an MP of Rajya Sabha for the state of Bihar since 2012. Ravi Shankar Prasad began his political career in his student years; he was part of proactive protests against the draconian emergency declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He had also been closely associated with the student’s movement under Shri Jay Prakash Narayan. Prasad became the member of National Executive of the BJP in 1995, which is a critical part of BJP for taking important policy decisions.
Ravi Shankar Prasad has also served as Minister of State for Coal and Mines in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. His achievements during his tenure included turning around Coal India limited from a loss making entity to a profit-earning enterprise within a year’s time.
After NDA’s landslide victory in 2014 general elections, he took oath as the Minister of Law and Justice and Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Modi Government. After taking charge he effectively managed the mess left after the 2G spectrum case and streamlined processes in the ministry by adopting innovative and progressive practices. These Ministries under his tenure saw rapid development and innovations, India’s efforts towards digital inclusion, data protection framework and cyber security were widely appreciated.
Apolitical, an organization which works in facilitating innovative solutions to Government over various challenges published a list of world’s 100 most influential people in digital government, Ravi Shankar Prasad featured among top 20 in the list which also featured the Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull and Tim Berners-Lee, one of the inventors of the World Wide Web among others. Proactive steps in tackling Cambridge Analytica controversy and steps to curb fake news on digital platforms like Whatsapp have also been part of his tenure.
Closely associated with RSS and a practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court, Ravi Shankar Prasad has litigated in multiple sensitive cases including the long-standing dispute on Ramjanmabhumi site, where Ravi Shankar Prasad represented the deity ‘Ram Lalla’. Prasad was also the main lawyer arguing the PIL against former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad in the multi Crore Fodder scam that led to the conviction of Lalu Yadav and many other politicians.
According to PRS, Prasad’s performance as an MP also has been top notch with active participation in debates and in asking questions, well over state and national averages. Ravi Shankar Prasad is currently the Minister of Law and Justice and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology( A ministry which was carved out of the former Ministry of Communications and Information Technology)in the Modi Government. Son of Thakur Prasad who was one of the founders of Jana Sangh, Ravi Shankar Prasad comes to the election table with his stellar past performance and clean record as a parliamentarian and a Minister.