New Delhi, Jul 14: In a significant move, the President of India on Monday appointed Kavinder Gupta, former deputy chief minister of J&K, as new Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Union Territory.
Gupta, a former deputy CM of J&K, was deputy CM in Mehooba Mufti-led government, which collapsed in June 2018 following withdrawal of support to it by BJP, citing deteriorating security situation in the erstwhile state.
Gupta has become the first politician to hold the position of LG Ladakh. Until now, Ladakh UT has been administered by non-political appointees- Radha Krishna Mathur (a retired IAS officer) and Brigadier (Dr.) B. D. Mishra (an Army veteran).
According to an official communique, the President of India has been appointed Kavinder Gupta as Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.
The President also accepted the resignation of Brig. (Dr.) B. D. Mishra (Retd.) as Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Ladakh.
Gupta, a BJP leader, was elected mayor of the city of Jammu for a record three consecutive terms, from 2005 to 2010.
In the 2014 Assembly election, Gupta contested and was elected a Member of Legislative Assembly from the Gandhinagar constituency. He defeated Raman Bhalla of Congress. On March 19, 2015, Gupta was elected speaker of the assembly.
On April 30, 2018, he was appointed as the deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir State.
After his appointment, Kavinder Gupta said, “I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, the Home Minister, and all national leadership for this opportunity. The challenges faced by the people of Ladakh will be my priority. I will fulfil my duties to the best of my ability.”
Gupta, who will succeed BD Mishra as L-G, is a senior BJP leader from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and previously served as Deputy Chief Minister of the state during Mehbooba Mufti’s tenure as Chief Minister.
He becomes the first political leader from J&K to hold the post of L-G of Ladakh, a Union Territory carved out after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories—J&K (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without a legislature)—on August 5, 2019.
His appointment comes after he was denied a party ticket to contest last year’s Assembly elections in the J&K Union Territory.
Born in 1959, Gupta joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at the age of 13. He was jailed for thirteen months during the Emergency. He also served as secretary of the Punjab unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad from 1978 to 1979.
Gupta led the J&K unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha from 1993 to 1998. He was elected Mayor of Jammu city for three consecutive terms, from 2005 to 2010.
In the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections, Gupta contested as a BJP candidate from Gandhinagar constituency, defeating Congress’s Raman Bhalla. On 19 March 2015, he was elected Speaker of the Assembly—the first BJP leader to hold that post.
He was appointed Deputy Chief Minister on 30 April 2018 as part of a cabinet reshuffle, succeeding Nirmal Kumar Singh. However, he resigned from the post on 19 June 2018 after the BJP withdrew from its alliance with the PDP, ending the coalition government after 51 days. (With inputs from KNO)
Former Dy CM appointed as Ladakh LG
