Who is Kavinder Gupta? Former deputy CM of Jammu and Kashmir appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh
Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Kavinder Gupta, has been appointed the new Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.
Gupta was among several senior BJP leaders in Jammu and Kashmir who were denied tickets in last year’s assembly polls.
He was hoping to receive the party nomination for the Bahu constituency, but the party instead nominated Vikram Randhawa. Gupta had previously represented the former Gandhi Nagar constituency, which was divided into Bahu and Jammu South after delimitation.
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He was later appointed head of the election management committee.
His appointment comes after Brigadier (Dr) B.D. Mishra (Retd) resigned from the post, a decision accepted by the President of India.
Along with Gupta, Professor Ashim Kumar Ghosh has been named Governor of Haryana, while Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju has been appointed Governor of Goa.
Gupta’s political journey began early. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at the age of thirteen and was jailed for 13 months during the Emergency imposed in 1975.
From 1978 to 1979, he served as the Secretary of the Punjab unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and later led the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha between 1993 and 1998.
His political influence in Jammu grew when he was elected Mayor of Jammu city for three consecutive terms from 2005 to 2010—a record in the city’s civic history.
In the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, he contested from the Gandhinagar constituency as a BJP candidate and defeated Congress leader Raman Bhalla.
He went on to become the first-ever BJP Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in March 2015.
Gupta was appointed Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on April 30, 2018, replacing Nirmal Kumar Singh in a cabinet reshuffle.
However, his term was short-lived, lasting only 51 days. On 19 June 2018, he resigned after the BJP withdrew support from its alliance with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), effectively ending the coalition government led by Mehbooba Mufti.
At the time, BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav stated that the alliance failed due to rising violence, growing radicalisation, and threats to fundamental rights under the Mufti government.
Gupta’s elevation to the post of Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh marks a significant step in his long political career, reflecting the BJP’s continued trust in him as a seasoned and experienced leader.
India