Who is Pralhad Joshi, India's new Education Minister after Dharmendra Pradhan's exit?

June 25, 2026, is set to go down as one of the iconic dates in Indian history books years from now as the day Gen-Z made their voices heard. On Saturday, the former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after weeks of protests in Delhi over Neet exam paper leaks that claimed over two dozen student lives in suicides.

The new man on the seat to determine the future of this country’s children is Pralhad Joshi, a BJP veteran who already holds power as the minister of consumer affairs for food and public distribution and oversees the government’s new and renewable energy department.

Speaking to reporters after his appointment and the exit of his predecessor, Joshi said he would “accept this responsibility with a sense of duty, humility and honesty”, while thanking Prime Minister Modi.

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So who is the new minister and will the student-led movement inspired by the brazen Cockroach Janta Party be able to ensure the new leader does justice to the demands of the people in the world’s largest democracy?

Who is Pralhad Joshi?

Born on November 27, 1962, in Karnataka’s Bijapur to a family from the railways, Joshi graduated from the Shri Kadasiddeshwar Arts College in Hubballi.

The south politician became a member of the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) party from a young age, rallying in movements like the Save Kashmir Movement in 1992 during his earlier days.

The Union minister is married to Jyoti Joshi — largely known to stay away from politics — who he has three daughters with.

Rise to power in BJP

The minister first came into political spotlight with the Hubballi Idgah Maidan movement in Karnataka during the early 1990s.

The movement became a major political and communal controversy, revolving around the RSS and BJP demanding the hoisting of the Indian flag on a long-disputed land plot managed by the Anjuman-e-Islam, a local Muslim body. The rallies led to violent clashes and police gunfire in August of 1994.

His presence during the time caved an opening into his BJP career, after which he was the first elected to the Lok Sabha from Dharwad in 2004, since when he has retained his seat six times, winning in 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024.

Within the BJP, Pralhad rose up the ranks by serving for his state at first, before he moved into national politics.

• BJP President of the Dharwad District

• General Secretary of BJP in Karnataka

• President of BJP Karnataka (2013–2016)

National politics entry

After BJP’s reelection in 2019 on May 23, Joshi began being considered for national politics, with his first role in the Union Cabinet as the minister of Parliamentary Affairs, coal and mines between 2019 and 2024.

After his tenure as the Union minister, Joshi was appointed as the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the Minister of New and Renewable Energy in June 2024 amid the Lok Sabha elections.

After the CJP-led movement and the overthrow of his predecessor, he has now also been given the post of the Union Education Minister of India.

Controversies

Although Joshi has had no legal or corruption cases against him, there have been controversies surrounding his tenure and the government’s policies at the time.

During his time as a coal minister, the Modi government allowed more privatisation in the mining sector, evoking criticism from environmental bodies, labour unions and opposition parties.

His relationship with the opposition has not been without its own bumps, with many of his political statements against them in Karnataka centering around caste, religion and corruption allegations.

His starting out role in the Hubballi Idgah Maidan movement in Karnata has also sparked criticism, with the entire campaign being accused of communal divide in the state.

Protests until Dharmendra’s exit

On Saturday, the Indian government said it was set to begin a fresh round of talks with leaders of a Gen-Z protest that led to disruptions in the capital this week, as demonstrators pressed a demand for the education minister to resign.

The protests represented the biggest youth challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came to power in 2014; their demands echoed by opposition parties, which disrupted parliament’s monsoon session that began this week.

Thousands of supporters of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) rallied in central Delhi despite the closure of the city’s 18 metro stations, as authorities tried to limit access to the protest site.

Anger boiled over since police cracked down on Monday, injuring many students after they launched baton charges and fired tear gas to deter tens of thousands of protesters marching on parliament.

The protests, led largely by young people, reflected anger over job scarcity, corruption and government accountability, widening since they were unleashed by discontent over leaks of question papers for high-stakes entrance exams.

At Friday’s talks, party representatives Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka warned federal ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh the protests could spread unless Pradhan stepped down.

Those talks came hours after activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike, raising hopes for a breakthrough.

The government extended a mobile internet shutdown in the area for the fifth straight day on Saturday, two sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Protesters aired frustration over the extended shutdown but vowed not to let it weaken their movement.

The protests were galvanised by leaks of question papers for medical school entrance examinations that forced more than 2 million candidates to retake tests, exposing shortcomings in the education system.

With inputs from Reuters

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