Anurag Singh Thakur (born 24 October 1974) is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party and a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. He is the current Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Second Modi ministry. His father, Prem Kumar Dhumal was a former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. Previously, Thakur served as a Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in May 2008 in a by poll as a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Coming from a political family of Himachal Pradesh, he is a long serving, four time Member of Parliament, being a member of 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th Lok Sabha. Previously, he was the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from May 2015 to February 2017, and had to leave that position after the Supreme Court order on BCCI governance. On July 29, 2016, he became the first serving Member of Parliament from the BJP to become a regular commissioned officer in the Territorial Army. He was involved in a legal struggle between the Himachal Pradesh State Government and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association over the rights to the International Cricket Stadium at Dharamshala. There was also controversy over his appointment as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and he had to leave that position following a Supreme Court order. Early life and education Thakur was born on 24 October 1974 in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh and his family belongs to the Hindu Rajput community. He is the younger son of Prem Kumar Dhumal and Sheela Devi. His father, Prem Kumar Dhumal was a former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He has done his bachelors B.A. degree from Doaba College, Jalandhar, Punjab. Political career In May 2008, Thakur succeeded his father when he was elected as Member of Parliament of India's 14th Lok Sabha from Hamirpur constituency. He was re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha in 2009, 16th Loksabha in 2014, and 17th Loksabha in 2019. Later, in 2010 Thakur was appointed the national president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. January 19, 2019 he became the first Bharatiya Janata Party MP to be awarded the Sansad Ratna Award, an award established in 2010 for recognizing contributions by parliamentarians. Minister In May 2019, Thakur