BJP's Only Christian Minister Exits Cabinet: George Kurian Resigns as Union Minister

Veteran BJP leader and Union Minister of State George Kurian resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on Tuesday following the expiry of his Rajya Sabha term. President Droupadi Murmu accepted his resignation with immediate effect, as confirmed by a communiqué from Rashtrapati Bhavan .

Kurian had entered Parliament in August 2024, elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in a bypoll to fill the seat vacated by Jyotiraditya Scindia after the latter moved to the Lok Sabha. Since he was elected only for the remainder of Scindia's term, his tenure in the Upper House expired in June 2026. The party instead fielded other candidates from Madhya Pradesh, leaving Kurian without a seat in either House of Parliament. Under the Constitution, a minister who is not a member of either House cannot remain in office for more than six consecutive months, making his exit a constitutional inevitability dressed up as a resignation.

His non-renomination is reportedly linked to the BJP's poor performance in the Kerala Assembly elections , a bruising verdict that apparently rendered 46 years of unwavering party loyalty insufficient currency for another parliamentary term.

A parallel from recent political history is instructive: former Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had similarly resigned from the Union Cabinet in July 2022, a day before the completion of his Rajya Sabha term, suggesting the BJP has a well-worn template for easing inconvenient ministers out through the constitutional back door.

Born in Kerala's Kottayam district , Kurian has been associated with the BJP since its formation in 1980, holding positions ranging from state general secretary to national secretary of the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha . A member of Kerala's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church , he was a familiar face on television debates and was often seen translating speeches of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah into Malayalam during their Kerala visits. The departure of the Modi government's sole Christian minister from a Cabinet that oversees Minority Affairs , of all portfolios, is an irony too glaring to overlook.