Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot was appointed the Leader of the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, AIR reported.

Gehlot will replace former Union minister Arun Jaitley who opted out of the Council of Ministers citing health reasons, PTI reported. The Leader of the Rajya Sabha is appointed by the party in power at the Centre.

Gehlot, a prominent Dalit face of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is a four-term Lok Sabha MP and represents Madhya Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha. His Rajya Sabha term will end in 2024.

Gehlot was chosen as leader of the Upper House as he is among the senior-most leaders in the party, according to the Hindustan Times. Other possible contenders like Union ministers Amit Shah, Ravishankar Prasad and Smriti Irani were elected to the Lok Sabha and relinquished their membership of the Upper House.

Gehlot on Tuesday retweeted congratulatory messages and thanked BJP leaders and ministers for their wishes.