Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is an Indian politician and the current Union Minister of Minority Affairs. Naqvi has been prominently active in the politics since very long. Naqvi was even jailed at the age of 17 in 1975 during the period of Emergency at the Naini Central Jail in Maharashtra due to his political activities. As a student leader, he had also participated in the activities of the Janta Party. Naqvi unsuccessfully contested elections for the legislative assembly of Uttar Pradesh in 1980 as a candidate of Janta Party (Secular). He also contested elections as an independent candidate in 1980 Lok Sabha Elections from the Ayodhya constituency. He was elected in 1988 for the post of Minister of State for Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2016, during the Narendra Modi led BJP regime. He became the Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs on 26 May 2014 in Modi’s Government. After resignation of Najma Heptulla on 12 July 2016, he got independent charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs. He took oath as the cabinet minister in Narendra Modi's cabinet on 30th May 2019 and continued with the Ministry of Minority Affairs.