Ordinary lifestyle with extraordinary appeal: That’s Rameswar Teli

Guwahati: Rameswar Teli, a prominent face among the tea community of Assam, has become the country’s new minister of state for food processing industries in the newly inducted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet.

Born on August 14, 1970 to the family of Budhu Teli and Dukla Teli in the Tipling area of Dibrugarh district in Assam, Teli is known for his humility and simple living. Pictures of his house-cum-office in Dibrugarh are doing the rounds of social media and are going viral.

In his affidavit, the Assam MP from Dibrugarh constituency has shared the fact with the Election Commission of India that his net worth is less than Rs 10 lakh.

Teli, who joined the BJP way back in 1999, defeated his nearest Congress rival, veteran tea community leader and former president of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), Pawan Singh Ghatowar by a margin of 3,64,566 votes. As per official records, Teli doesn’t have any criminal charges against him. In the year 2014, he also defeated five-time MP Ghatowar from Dibrugarh constituency by a margin of over 1.85 lakh votes.

Also Read: NE leaders hail Rameswar Teli’s induction in Modi Cabinet 2.0

In 2001, he contested the Assam Assembly polls on a BJP ticket first time and defeated the Congress candidate in the Duliajan constituency.

A bachelor, Teli is also a two-time BJP legislator from Duliajan. He was elected to Assam legislative Assembly during 2001-2006 and 2006-2011.

In the assembly elections in 2011, however, Teli was defeated by Congress candidate Amiya Gogoi from Duliajan constituency by a margin of less than 3,000 votes.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Teli beat the five-time Parliamentarian Ghatowar by a margin of over 1.85 lakh votes.

A former member of the Standing Committee on Industry and the Consultative Committee under the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region, Teli is known for maintaining an ordinary lifestyle.