| Rajesh Anand Bhagwan | |
| Constituency Mp1: | Constituency No.20 Beau Bassin Petite Rivière |
| Term Start1: | 21 August 1983 |
| Term End1: | 05 August 1987 |
| Term Start2: | 30 August 1987 |
| Term End2: | 20 August 1991 |
| Term Start3: | 15 September 1991 |
| Term End3: | 25 November 1995 |
| Term Start4: | 20 December 1995 |
| Term End4: | 28 August 2000 |
| Term Start5: | 11 September 2000 |
| Term End5: | 10 June 2005 |
| Term Start6: | 3 July 2005 |
| Term End6: | 20 April 2010 |
| Term Start7: | 5 May 2010 |
| Term End7: | 6 November 2014 |
| Term Start8: | 10 December 2014 |
| Term End8: | 10 October 2019 |
| Term Start9: | 7 November 2019 |
| Term End9: | 4 October 2024[1] |
| Term Start10: | 22 November 2024[2] |
| Birth Place: | British Mauritius |
| Party: | MMM |
| Occupation: | Meter Reader |
Rajesh Anand Bhagwan, also known as Rajesh Bhagwan, is a Mauritian politician.
Rajesh Bhagwan worked as a meter-reader for the Central Electricity Board (Mauritius) before joining politics.[3] [4]
Rajesh Bhagwan was elected as Member of Parliament in Constituency No.20 Beau Bassin Petite Rivière for the first time in 1983. Since then has been re-elected at every General Election that has been held in that Constituency of Mauritius. He also holds the office of Secrétaire Général of the MMM.[5]
As a result of the 2024 General Elections Bhagwan was sworn in as Minister of the Environment as part of the new Alliance du Changement government led by Navin Ramgoolam and Paul Bérenger.[6] [7]
During the campaign leading to the 2019 general elections in Constituency No.7 Piton Rivière-du-Rempart, senior figures of the MMM, including Rajesh Bhagwan, announced that they would not form an alliance with any other party. This news disappointed a loyal MMM-supporter to the point that he yelled back "This is political suicide. Go buy Lysol and distribute it to all regional branches of the MMM!", in reference to an infamous claim made earlier by Rajesh Bhagwan that he would rather drink disinfectant Lysol rather than work with disgraced politician Navin Ramgoolam again.[8]
In August 2024 and in preparation for the 2024 Mauritian general election Rajesh Bhagwan belittled his younger adversary Roshi Bhadain by calling him names, stating that he's already killed Bhadain and that Bhadain is already dead. These public attacks prompted Bhadain to denounce Bhagwan, and to demand more respect, given the decades that Bhagwan has been elected in Constituency No. 20 and the large amount of taxpayers' money that Bhagwan has earned as a result.[9]
On 9 October 2024 Rajesh Bhagwan again attacked Roshi Bhadain at a public meeting held by L’alliance du changement (Ptr-MMM-ND-ReA), mocking Bhadain whom he claims will not be elected even if the Reform Party promises 2000 reforms, and that Bhadain will not be elected even if Bhagwan himself dies. Bhagwan went further by also mocking Bhadain's wife and daughter who have been calling voters in Constituency No. 20 as part of the campaign leading to the November 2024 General Elections. Bhadain's daughter responded via social media that she will continue to campaign for the Reform Party despite "uncle" Rajesh Bhagwan's attempts to intimidate her by publicly calling her an idiot.[10] [11]