President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Governors for two states and a Union Territory, as announced by the Rashtrapati Bhavan in a press communique on Monday (July 14). The governors have been appointed for Haryana and Goa, and a new Lieutenant Governor for Ladakh. The appointments will take effect from the dates they will assume charge of their respective offices, it said.
President Murmu has also accepted the resignation of Brig (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) as Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Who are the newly appointed Governors?
- Professor Ashim Kumar Ghosh was appointed as Governor of Haryana.
- Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju was appointed as Governor of Goa.
- Kavinder Gupta was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.
The above appointments will take effect from the dates they will assume charge of their respective offices.
Professor Ashim Kumar Ghosh: Governor of Haryana
Professor Ashim Kumar Ghosh, a respected academic and political thinker, has been appointed the new Governor of Haryana. Born in 1944 in Howrah, he completed his primary education at Howrah Vivekananda Institution before pursuing higher studies in political science. He earned both his graduate and postgraduate degrees from Vidyasagar College and the University of Calcutta, respectively.
Ghosh dedicated 38 years of his life (1966–2004) to academia, teaching political science and earning a reputation for his deep scholarship and commitment to education. His transition to politics began in 1991 when he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Over the years, he rose through the party ranks, serving as state secretary in 1996, state co-president in 1998, and state president from 1999 to 2002. He also served as the party's observer for Tripura from 2003 to 2005 and was a member of the BJP's National Working Committee from 2004 to 2006. Currently, he is a member of the BJP National Council. His appointment as Governor is seen as bringing a scholarly and balanced perspective to Haryana's constitutional leadership.
Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju: Governor of Goa
Veteran politician Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju has been appointed as the Governor of Goa, succeeding PS Sreedharan Pillai. A senior leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and a prominent political figure from Andhra Pradesh, Raju is best known for serving as the Union Minister for Civil Aviation in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first Cabinet from 2014 to 2018. He is a close associate of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and has had a long-standing influence in regional and national politics.
Hailing from the royal Pusapati family of Vizianagaram, Raju has held several important portfolios in the Andhra Pradesh state government, including finance, planning, and revenue. His appointment to Goa brings a wealth of legislative and administrative experience, and he is expected to provide seasoned guidance to the state’s governance and development.
Kavinder Gupta: Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh
Kavinder Gupta, a senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, has been named the new Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh. A lifelong member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Gupta began his political journey at a young age and was imprisoned for over a year during the Emergency, a defining period for many senior BJP leaders.
His political career took off in Jammu's municipal politics, where he made history by serving three consecutive terms as mayor between 2005 and 2010. He went on to serve as the general secretary of the BJP's Jammu and Kashmir unit and won his first Assembly election in 2014 from the Gandhi Nagar constituency, defeating senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla. Following the PDP-BJP alliance, he was elected Speaker of the Assembly and later appointed Deputy Chief Minister in 2018 during a particularly challenging phase in the state.
Born on December 2, 1959, in Jammu, Gupta is a graduate and father of three. He has also been actively involved in youth and religious organisations such as the Vishav Hindu Parishad and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. As the first Jammu-born leader to be appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Gupta brings strong administrative acumen and a deep regional understanding to the role.
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