Anurag Thakur
Five-term BJP MP from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh; Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports from July 2021 to June 2024, who launched the "Krish, Trish and Baltiboy: Bharat Hain Hum" trailer in October 2023.
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- Country
- India
- Full name
- Anurag Singh Thakur
- Known for
- Five-term Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh (2008–); Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports (7 July 2021–June 2024); launched the trailer of the animated series "Krish, Trish and Baltiboy: Bharat Hain Hum" on 11 October 2023; former BCCI president removed by the Supreme Court in January 2017.
- Born
- 24 October 1974, Samirpur, Hamirpur district, Himachal Pradesh
- Ministerial tenures
- Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs (31 May 2019– 7 July 2021); Cabinet Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports (7 July 2021–June 2024)
- Parliamentary firsts
- Youngest BJP chief whip in the Lok Sabha (16th Lok Sabha); chaired the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology; first serving BJP MP commissioned as a regular officer of the Territorial Army (Lieutenant, 2016; Captain, 2021)
- Cricket administration
- President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (May 2016–January 2017); removed by the Supreme Court on 2 January 2017; credited by the government profile with building the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium
- Award
- Sansad Ratna Award 2019 for parliamentary performance — the government profile notes he was the only BJP and only North India MP honoured that year
Anurag Singh Thakur is a five-term Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, who served as Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting and of Youth Affairs & Sports from July 2021 to June 2024 (The Hindu BusinessLine; DNA India). On 11 October 2023, in that role, he launched the trailer of the animated series Krish, Trish and Baltiboy — subtitled Bharat Hain Hum — in New Delhi (ANI via Lokmat Times). Before national politics he was a cricket administrator — president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from May 2016 until the Supreme Court removed him in January 2017 (The Economic Times; The Indian Express).
Born 24 October 1974 in Hamirpur district’s Samirpur village, Thakur entered the Lok Sabha in a May 2008 by-election after his father, former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, resigned the seat (The Economic Times). He then won it in every general election through 2024 (The Economic Times; The Times of India). He led the BJP’s youth wing, became the youngest party chief whip in the Lok Sabha, chaired the Standing Committee on Information Technology, was commissioned into the Territorial Army, and received a Sansad Ratna Award (Government of India — Bureau of Outreach and Communication).
The Krish, Trish and Baltiboy trailer launch
What most separates this profile from the generic Thakur bios crowding the search results is the 11 October 2023 trailer launch. As Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Thakur launched Krish, Trish and Baltiboy – Bharat Hain Hum in New Delhi — the animated anthology about lesser-known freedom fighters produced by his ministry’s Central Bureau of Communication with Graphiti Studio (ANI via Lokmat Times). ANI names co-creators Munjal Shroff and Tilak Shetty, notes the Season 1 format (26 eleven-minute episodes premiering 15 October on Doordarshan, Prime Video and Netflix), and records the 12 Indian and 7 international languages (ANI via Lokmat Times).
At the launch Thakur named fighters such as Birsa Munda and Rani Abbakka as figures “students are unaware of”, said 30 percent of the featured heroes are women, and announced the series would be screened for all Parliamentarians (ANI via Lokmat Times). A Press Information Bureau release on the launch also exists — it is the release this site’s Krish, Trish and Baltiboy profile cites for the trailer-launch facts; the launch itself sits inside the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign Thakur tied to Narendra Modi’s vision (ANI via Lokmat Times).
Five straight wins from Hamirpur
Thakur’s parliamentary record is a clean sweep: five consecutive victories from Hamirpur — a 2008 by-election plus the 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024 general elections (The Economic Times; The Times of India). The margins tell the story of a stronghold that peaked and then softened:
| Election | Result | Margin (votes) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 by-election | Won | 1,74,666 |
| 2009 general | Won | 72,732 |
| 2014 general | Won | 98,403 |
| 2019 general | Won (69.04% vote share, 6.8 lakh votes) | 3,99,572 |
| 2024 general | Won (6,07,068 votes vs 4,24,711 for Satpal Singh Raizada) | 1,82,357 |
His 6,07,068 votes in 2024 against Congress rival Satpal Singh Raizada’s 4,24,711 — a 1,82,357-vote margin per Election Commission figures (The Times of India) — was less than half his record 2019 margin of 3,99,572 (The Economic Times). That softening matters: it came in an election the BJP still swept across Himachal Pradesh, and The Economic Times described the Hamirpur contest as unusually competitive, with the Congress internal revolt and the Agniveer scheme’s salience among the constituency’s large ex-serviceman population (The Economic Times).
The ministerial arc: from Finance to I&B, then out
Thakur joined the Union government in 2019 as Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs (31 May 2019–7 July 2021, under Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman) (Government of India — Bureau of Outreach and Communication). On 7 July 2021, President Ram Nath Kovind administered his Cabinet oath, handing him Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports — the sports charge arriving just ahead of the Tokyo Olympics (The Hindu BusinessLine).
| Period | Office |
|---|---|
| 31 May 2019 – 7 July 2021 | Minister of State, Finance & Corporate Affairs |
| 7 July 2021 – June 2024 | Cabinet Minister, Information & Broadcasting + Youth Affairs & Sports |
| June 2024 – present | Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Hamirpur — no ministerial portfolio |
The arc ended with the 2024 election: the 10 June 2024 allocation, directed by President Droupadi Murmu on Prime Minister Modi’s advice, gave Information & Broadcasting to Ashwini Vaishnaw — and Thakur, though re-elected, was not retained in the new Council of Ministers (PTI via The Telegraph; DNA India). That transition is stated plainly because several tertiary biographies still describe him as the sitting Union Minister; they are stale (see openItems).
Cricket, the courtroom, and the Territorial Army
Before the cabinet, Thakur built a parallel career in cricket administration, rising to BCCI president in May 2016 — until the Supreme Court removed him and secretary Ajay Shirke on 2 January 2017, holding Thakur had rendered himself “unfit” by obstructing its orders, and issuing a show-cause notice on perjury and contempt charges for allegedly lying under oath to block the court-appointed Lodha Committee’s reforms (The Economic Times; The Indian Express). The coda came in early 2026: a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi lifted the 2017 “cease and desist” bar, clarifying it was never meant as a permanent disqualification, with the contempt proceedings long dropped (The Statesman).
In uniform, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Territorial Army’s 124 Sikh Regiment in 2016 — “the first serving BJP Member of Parliament to join as a regular officer” — and promoted to Captain in 2021 (Government of India — Bureau of Outreach and Communication). In Parliament he was the youngest BJP chief whip in the 16th Lok Sabha, chaired the Standing Committee on Information Technology, sat on the Public Accounts Committee, and served three consecutive terms as Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha national president — the only BJYM president to serve under three BJP presidents (Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari) (Government of India — Bureau of Outreach and Communication).
Frequently asked questions
Was Anurag Thakur the Information & Broadcasting Minister when he launched the KTB trailer? Yes. He launched the Krish, Trish and Baltiboy – Bharat Hain Hum trailer on 11 October 2023 explicitly as Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting. He held that portfolio from 7 July 2021 until the June 2024 government transition, when Ashwini Vaishnaw took it over.
Is Anurag Thakur still a Union Minister? No. He won Hamirpur for a fifth consecutive time in June 2024 but was not retained in the new Council of Ministers. He continues as a BJP Member of Parliament from Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur constituency, which he has represented continuously since the May 2008 by-election.
Why was he removed as BCCI president? The Supreme Court removed him on 2 January 2017 for obstructing the Lodha Committee’s governance reforms, issuing a show-cause notice on charges of perjury and contempt. The contempt proceedings were later dropped, and in early 2026 the Court lifted the bar on his associating with the BCCI.
What connects him to Himachal Pradesh? Nearly everything geographic in his career: he was born in Samirpur village of Hamirpur district, is the son of former Himachal chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, and has won the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat five times in a row from 2008 to 2024.
What this profile does not claim
- It does not evaluate his performance as I&B or Sports Minister, nor as MoS Finance; the sources document appointments, tenures and events, not a policy scorecard.
- It does not describe him as a currently serving Union Minister; the June 2024 allocation ended his ministerial tenure.
- It does not repeat the tertiary-bio claim of a Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly stint or state cabinet role, which contradicts the fully-read newspaper record and is flagged in openItems.
- It does not state a BCCI presidency start of May 2015 found in one lead index; the fully-read record says May 2016.
- It publishes no spouse, children or other personal-life details; the full-read sources document a public professional career only.
Timeline
- 1974
- Born 24 October 1974 in Samirpur, district Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh.
- 2008
- Elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Hamirpur in a May by-election, following his father Prem Kumar Dhumal's resignation after becoming Himachal Pradesh chief minister.
- 2009
- Re-elected from Hamirpur to the 15th Lok Sabha.
- 2011
- Leads the BJYM's Rashtriya Ekta Yatra from Kolkata toward Srinagar and receives the Best Young Parliamentarian Award.
- 2011–2016
- Serves as national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha — appointed for three consecutive terms.
- 2014
- Re-elected from Hamirpur to the 16th Lok Sabha; appointed BJP chief whip, the youngest to hold the post; chaired the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology.
- 2016
- Becomes president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in May, and is commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Territorial Army's 124 Sikh Regiment — the first serving BJP MP to join as a regular officer.
- 2017
- The Supreme Court removes him as BCCI president on 2 January and issues a show-cause notice on charges of perjury and contempt of court over obstruction of the Lodha Committee reforms.
- 2019
- Wins Hamirpur a fourth time with a 3,99,572-vote margin; serves as Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs from 31 May; receives the Sansad Ratna Award.
- 2021
- Sworn in as a Cabinet Minister on 7 July and given the Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports portfolios; promoted to Captain in the Territorial Army.
- 2023
- Launches the trailer of the animated series "Krish, Trish and Baltiboy: Bharat Hain Hum" in New Delhi on 11 October, as Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting.
- 2024
- Wins Hamirpur a fifth consecutive time with 6,07,068 votes and a 1,82,357-vote margin; not retained in the Union Council of Ministers formed after the election — Ashwini Vaishnaw takes the Information & Broadcasting portfolio.
- 2026
- The Supreme Court lifts the 2017 bar on his associating with the BCCI, clarifying it was never intended as a permanent disqualification.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- The PIB press release on the 11 October 2023 trailer launch (PRID 1966550) was not independently read in full — the page fetch failed — so this profile's launch facts rest on ANI's contemporaneous report; the release is additionally cited as the source of the trailer-launch facts in this site's own 'Krish, Trish and Baltiboy' profile.
- Tertiary bios disagree on his parliamentary entry: Business Standard's 'Who is Anurag Thakur' page describes a Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly stint and state ministership, which contradicts The Economic Times' fully-read account of a direct first election to the Lok Sabha in the May 2008 by-election. The Assembly claim is not asserted here.
- Some tertiary pages (Oneindia, updated February 2026) still describe him as 'currently serving as the Union Cabinet Minister'; the June 2024 portfolio allocation reported by PTI and DNA shows Ashwini Vaishnaw took the I&B portfolio and Thakur was not retained. Those bios are stale.
- One lead-index source gave his BCCI presidency as 'May 2015–February 2017'; The Economic Times' fully-read record says May 2016–February 2017, so the May 2016 start is used here.
- The fetched Statesman page did not display its publication date; search metadata placed the report of the Supreme Court lifting the BCCI association bar in early February 2026, so the year is asserted and the exact date is flagged rather than stated.
- No personal-life details (spouse, children, residences beyond the public record) appear in the full-read sources and none are asserted; the sources document a public professional career only.
Sources
10 sources (10 tier 1), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Built from ten sources read in full: nine tier1 (ANI, two Government of India profiles via the Bureau of Outreach and Communication, The Hindu BusinessLine, two Economic Times pieces, The Indian Express, The Statesman, PTI via The Telegraph, The Times of India, DNA India) and no tertiary or first-party-only claims. The PIB press release on the trailer launch (PRID 1966550) could not be fetched by this session's page reader (HTTP 403 from the fetch service); the launch facts rest instead on ANI's contemporaneous agency report of 11 October 2023. Wikipedia was consulted only as a lead index and is not cited. Oneindia and Business Standard were used only to detect staleness/errors in tertiary bios, which are flagged in openItems rather than repeated.
- Union Minister Anurag Thakur launches enthralling trailer of animated series 'KTB-Bharat Hain Hum' Tier 1Supports: Thakur as Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting launching the 'Krish, Trish and Baltiboy – Bharat Hain Hum' trailer in New Delhi on 11 October 2023; co-creators Munjal Shroff and Tilak Shetty; Central Bureau of Communication and Graphiti Studio as producers; 26-episode Season 1 of 11-minute episodes premiering 15 October on Doordarshan, Prime Video and Netflix; 12 Indian and 7 international languages; his quotes on unsung freedom fighters (Birsa Munda, Rani Abbakka), 30% women heroes, and screening the series in Parliament; Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav context Open original source
- Supports: Full name 'Shri Anurag Singh Thakur'; Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports; MP from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh; Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs (31 May 2019–7 July 2021); Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT; Member of Public Accounts Committee; youngest chief whip in the Lok Sabha (16th Lok Sabha); Territorial Army commission as Lieutenant 2016, 124 Sikh Regiment, first serving BJP MP as regular officer, Captain 2021; BJYM national president, three consecutive terms, worked under Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari; BCCI, HPCA, HPOA, Hockey Himachal, HP Table Tennis and Hockey India posts; credit for building the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium; Sansad Ratna Award 2019 (only BJP and North India MP that year); Champions of Change 2019; Young Global Leader (WEF); Global Fund 'Global Champion' on TB; born Samirpur, Hamirpur, 24 October 1974 Open original source
- Supports: Sworn in as Cabinet Minister by President Ram Nath Kovind on 7 July 2021; given Information & Broadcasting along with Youth Affairs & Sports; 46-year-old MP from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh; inducted into the Modi government in 2019 as Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs; former BCCI president; took the sports portfolio ahead of the Tokyo Olympics Open original source
- Supports: First elected as MP in the May 2008 by-election; successive wins in 2009 and 2014; 2019 fourth win by nearly four lakh votes with 69.04% vote share and over 6.8 lakh votes; son of former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal; from Samirpur village, Hamirpur district; former BJYM president; Rashtriya Ekta Yatra (Kolkata–Srinagar, Lal Chowk flag, 26 January 2011); born 24 October 1974; graduated from Doaba College, Jalandhar; BCCI president May 2016–February 2017, ousted by the Supreme Court in January 2017 over the Lodha reforms; Best Young Parliamentarian Award 2011; BJP chief whip in the Lok Sabha Open original source
- Supports: Supreme Court on 2 January 2017 removed BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke, holding Thakur had rendered himself 'unfit' by obstructing court orders; bench led by CJI T. S. Thakur issued a show-cause notice on charges of perjury and contempt for allegedly lying under oath to block the Lodha Committee reforms; Thakur's 'all the best' public reaction Open original source
- Supports: Supreme Court bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi lifted the bar on Thakur associating with the BCCI, clarifying the 2 January 2017 'cease and desist' direction was never intended as a permanent or lifelong disqualification; the contempt proceedings had been dropped; the 2017 action stemmed from his communication to the ICC seeking a statement that the reforms amounted to 'governmental interference' Open original source
- Supports: Portfolios for the new Union Council of Ministers allocated 10 June 2024 as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi; Ashwini Vaishnaw given the Information and Broadcasting Ministry — establishing the end of Thakur's I&B tenure with the government transition Open original source
- Himachal Pradesh Election Results 2024: Anurag Thakur wins Hamirpur seat for fifth consecutive time Tier 1Supports: Thakur's fifth consecutive win from Hamirpur in 2024: 6,07,068 votes against Satpal Raizada's 4,24,711, margin 1,82,357 (Election Commission figures); 2019 margin was 3,99,572; BJP clean sweep of Himachal Pradesh's four seats Open original source
- Hamirpur in Himachal: Amit Shah's remarks boost Anurag Thakur's campaign; stakes high for Sukhu Tier 1Supports: Win-margin history: 2019 by 3,99,572; 2014 by 98,403; 2009 by 72,732; 2008 by-election by 1,74,666; first elected in the 2008 bypoll after his father Prem Kumar Dhumal's resignation on becoming chief minister; sought the fifth term against former Una MLA Satpal Singh Raizada; Hamirpur as a BJP bastion Open original source
- Supports: Thakur described as 'the BJP MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh' who 'was the I&B minister in the Modi cabinet in the previous term' — confirming he was not retained as a minister in the June 2024 council while remaining a Lok Sabha MP Open original source
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