Mansukh Mandaviya, who served as the union health minister at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, was on Monday appointed as India's new sports minister, replacing Anurag Thakur in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet. The 52-year-old Mandaviya won the Porbandar Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat by defeating his nearest Congress rival Lalit Vasoya by a margin of 3.83 lakh votes. Simultaneously, Mandaviya was also given charge of the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers in the new cabinet unveiled on Monday. Additionally, Raksha Khadse, a three-time BJP MP from Maharashtra's Raver, was made Minister of State (Sports) under Mandaviya.