Rattan Lal Kataria was elected as a Haryana MLA in 1987.

Now entering Parliament for the third time, Rattan Lal Kataria is often seen as the BJP's Dalit face in Haryana.

The Ambala MP Mr Kataria (67) defeated former Union minister and Congress veteran Kumari Selja by a margin of 3.42 lakh votes to win from Ambala.

He was spokesperson of Haryana BJP in early 1980s and served as the party's state unit president between 2001 and 2013.

Mr Kataria was elected as a Haryana MLA in 1987 and became MP for the first time in 1999.

He lost the subsequent elections in 2004 and 2009 to Selja, but won the Ambala parliamentary seat in 2014.

Known for penning short poems, Mr Kataria is a law graduate.

During his last stint in Parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. He also served on the Standing Committee on Finance.