Jaipur, Nov 9 (IANS): Sanwar Lal Jat, the new member in Narendra Modi's council of ministers, is a former commerce professor and a favourite of locals.

Born in 1955, he is a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member from Rajasthan.

He was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha from Ajmer constituency after defeating Sachin Pilot of the Congress.

He is member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources from Sep 1, 2014.

Till recently, Sanwar Lal was a cabinet minister in the Vasundhara Raje government holding portfolios of irrigation, Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana, PHED, CAD, ground water development.

An agriculturist by profession, Sanwar Lal did M.Com. and Ph.D. before joining politics. He was a commerce professor in the University of Rajasthan.

He is married and has two sons and a daughter.

Sanwar Lal entered politics in 1990. He won his first assembly election in 1990, and then again in 1993, 1998 and 2003.

In 2003, he became irrigation minister in the Raje government but lost the 2008 state polls.

In the 2013 assembly election, he won from Nasirabad constituency in Ajmer district.

Sanwar Lal is a down to earth person and a favourite among locals.

"He knows almost everyone by name in Bhinai and Nasirabad and is always ready to help poor farmers," said a BJP functionary.

When he was irrigation minister in the Raje government, he brought the Rs.3,000 crore project for Ajmer to bring Bisalpur dam water to the remote villages affected by fluoride water.

"He is the local hero of his constituency and therefore people without caste or barrier come forward to vote for him," said Nandu Gujjar of Shrinagar village in Ajmer district.