BJP chief Amit Shah takes charge of Home Ministry, assumes his first Cabinet post at Centre

BJP president Amit Shah on Friday took charge of the Home Ministry, his first Cabinet post at Central government. Shah has replaced incumbent Rajnath Singh who has moved to Defence.   

This is the first time Shah will be in the Modi government at the Centre. He has been the Home minister in Gujarat when Modi was the state chief minister.   

Meanwhile, speculation is rife over who would succeed Shah as BJP president, with the names of JP Nadda being seen as a possible choice. Some other names are also being talked about for the post including Bhupender Yadav. 

Widely credited for BJP's spectacular victory in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, Shah took oath on Thursday along with 57 other ministers. 

Born into an affluent Gujarati family in Mumbai in 1964, the BJP chief lived and studied in his paternal village Maansa in Gujarat until the age of 16. Upon completion of his school education, his family shifted to Ahmedabad. Shah became an active member of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) here. 

A few years later, Shah joined the BJP his first assignment was that of a poll agent at Ahmedabad's Naranpura ward followed by secretaryship of the Naranpura ward.

He later managed the poll campaigns of party veteran LK Advani in Ahmedabad and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Gandhinagar, he earned himself the reputation of an astute election manager.

Recognising his commitment and abilities, the BJP made Shah the President of the party in 2014. In this year's Lok Sabha elections, he won the Gandhinagar seat by a margin of 5.57 lakh votes against his nearest Congress rival C.J. Chavda.