George Kurian Resigns: Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Quits After BJP Drops Him From Rajya Sabha List
Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries George Kurian resigned from his ministerial position on Monday. The development follows the BJP's decision not to nominate him for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, preventing him from fulfilling the mandatory requirement of being elected to Parliament within six months of taking his ministerial oath.
Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying George Kurian has resigned from the Union Council of Ministers after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not renominate him for a fresh Rajya Sabha term. President Droupadi Murmu has accepted his resignation on the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, bringing his ministerial tenure to an end after his membership in the Upper House expired.
Resignation Accepted by President Droupadi Murmu
An official notification from Rashtrapati Bhavan said President Murmu accepted Kurian's resignation under Article 75(2) of the Constitution. Kurian ceased to be a Rajya Sabha member after his term ended on June 21, making it necessary for him to step down from the Council of Ministers since he was not re-elected or renominated within the prescribed period. Sushmita Dev Resigns: TMC Leader Quits From Trinamool Congress and Rajya Sabha MP, Says ‘Political and Personal Reasons’ (Watch Video).
BJP Did Not Renominate Kurian
The BJP recently announced its candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections but did not include Kurian among its nominees. The party instead fielded national general secretary Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Agarwal for the two seats from Madhya Pradesh that were becoming vacant. C Vijayabaskar Resigns: Former AIADMK Minister Quits As MLA, Deepening Party’s Political Turmoil.
Party sources indicated that Kurian was not informed in advance about the decision, and his omission came as a surprise within BJP circles. Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu was also left out of the party's Rajya Sabha list.
Key BJP Leader From Kerala
A lawyer by profession, Kurian has been associated with the BJP since its inception in 1980 and has held several organisational responsibilities over the years. He served as the party's Kerala state general secretary, national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and a member of the BJP national executive.
He was inducted into the Union Cabinet in June 2024 and was widely seen as an important face of the BJP's outreach to Kerala, particularly among the Christian community. Kurian also frequently translated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speeches into Malayalam during public events in the state.
Political Career and Parliamentary Tenure
Kurian entered the Rajya Sabha in August 2024 from Madhya Pradesh after the seat fell vacant following Jyotiraditya Scindia's election to the Lok Sabha. Before joining the Union government, he unsuccessfully contested the 2016 Kerala Assembly election from Puthuppally and held several key organisational roles within the BJP.
What Lies Ahead
With Kurian's resignation accepted, the Union government is expected to reassign his ministerial responsibilities until a replacement is appointed. His exit from the Cabinet also comes amid the BJP's broader reshuffle of its Rajya Sabha representation ahead of the ongoing biennial elections, reflecting changes in the party's parliamentary strategy.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 23, 2026 10:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
