Amit Anil Chandra Shah, born on October 22, 1964, is an Indian politician currently holding the position of the 31st Minister of Home Affairs since 2019. Additionally, he has served as the 1st Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. Shah previously served as the 10th President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2014 to 2020 and has been the chairman of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) since 2014. In the 2019 Indian general elections, he secured a seat in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, representing Gandhinagar. Prior to this, he served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, representing Gujarat from 2017 to 2019. A pivotal strategist within the BJP, Amit Shah is known for his close association with Narendra Modi. He held seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly representing Naranpura from 2012 to 2017 and Sarkhej from 1997 to 2012. During this period, Shah assumed the role of Minister of State, overseeing diverse portfolios such as Home, Law and Justice, Prison, Border Security, Civil Defence, Excise, Home Guards, Transport, Prohibition, Gram Rakshak Dal, Police Housing, Legislative, and Parliamentary Affairs.
Amit Shah is slated to inaugurate the Ram Temple-themed Durga Pandal at Santosh Mitra Square in north Kolkata on October 16, as per reports from ANI. The pandal takes inspiration from the ongoing construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, and the inauguration is set for 4 p.m. during the Santosh Mitra Square Puja, as informed by BJP leader Sajal Ghosh. Organized by the Santosh Mitra Square Puja Committee, the Durga Puja pandal, also known as Sajay Ghosh’s Puja, adopts the theme of the Ram Temple for this year.
Amit Shah’s involvement in inaugurating Puja pandals is not new; he did so in 2021 during the Assembly elections in Kolkata. The BJP orchestrated Durga Puja celebrations in Bengal at that time, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually participating in the inauguration. Over the weekend, Amit Shah visited Gujarat as part of his three-day itinerary, attending the India-Pakistan World Cup match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Additionally, he took the opportunity to visit children from ‘Anganwadi’ centers in his Lok Sabha constituency. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Shah shared, “Today I went to a gaming zone with the children of Anganwadi centers in my Lok Sabha constituency… the children of Anganwadi centers in my Lok Sabha constituency get all the possible facilities and happiness that children from affluent families get.”
On October 15, Amit Shah unveiled the “Samau Shaheed Memorial,” dedicated to 12 revolutionaries from Mansa who were executed by the British during the 1857 revolt. Following this, he addressed a gathering in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district and officially opened a library. Later in the day, Shah actively participated in the ‘Kesariya’ Garba celebration in Surat, marking the initiation of the Navratri festival.