Raveen Thukral, a senior journalist who steered Captain Amarinder Singh’s media campaign in the recent assembly polls, has been appointed Media Advisor to the Chief Minister, in the rank of Minister of State (MoS).Mr. Thukral, who will formally take over his new responsibilities on Wednesday, has been part of Captain Amarinder’s core team since taking over as his media strategist in October 2016.Terming his appointment as a huge responsibility, 52-year-old Mr. Thukral said he would continue to work with the media with the same professionalism that had been the hallmark of Captain Amarinder’s poll campaign. Mr. Thukral said he would carry forward the aggressive media agenda he had embarked on as the media strategist to the Punjab Congress president.Mr. Thukral, who started his journalistic career back in 1986 in Delhi as a Correspondent in the now defunct newspaper Patriot, which was owned and run by well-known freedom fighter Aruna Asaf Ali, brings to the table extensive journalistic experience.
His forte has been Political Journalism, with a strong grasp of the Punjab political, social and administrative systems, which he has been closely observing and analysing since 1993, when he shifted base to Chandigarh.Mr. Thukral is well respected in the media community as a thorough professional with an eye for detail and a deep understanding of the issues pertaining to the state.Besides Patriot, Mr. Thukral has worked in various capacities in the Hindustan Times newspaper, in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. He was the Political Editor of the Hindustan Times in Punjab, before he moved to The Tribune, to which he made significant contribution as its Associate Editor.Mr. Thukral was later associated with the ITV Group of TV channels and Print publications (India News, News X, The Sunday Guardian, Aaj Samaj) as Chief Editor. He continued to be associated with the Group as Editorial Consultant before he was roped in by Captain Amarinder Singh as his Media Strategist.