Kavinder Gupta assumes office of Ladakh lieutenant governor

Hindustan Times

19-07-2025

Senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Kavinder Gupta was sworn in as the new lieutenant governor (LG) of Ladakh on Friday, four days after President Droupadi Murmu appointed him to the post. BJP leader Kavinder Gupta takes charge as lieutenant governor of Union territory of Ladakh, at Raj Niwas in Leh on Friday. (ANI)
Soon after the oath ceremony, Gupta expressed his desire to rebuild Ladakh and make it a global tourism destination.
'I have been appointed here to the post of lieutenant governor. I want to assure the people of Ladakh that rising above religion, caste, and party politics, we will all work together to rebuild a new Ladakh,' Gupta told reporters soon after taking over as lieutenant governor. He further said, 'There is still a lot that needs to be done. There is no doubt that Ladakh faced a lot of discrimination in the past.'
Gupta was administered the oath of office in Leh by the chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh high court, Justice Arun Palli, at a ceremony held at Ladakh Raj Niwas in Leh, officials said.
Chief Secretary Pawan Kotwal read the official warrant of appointment.
Gupta, 66, who started off as worker of Rashtriya Swayamasevak Sangh, is the third LG of Ladakh, succeeding Brigadier BD Mishra, who assumed the role in February 2024. He follows R K Mathur, Ladakh's first LG after Jammu and Kashmir was reorganized in 2019.
A veteran BJP leader from Jammu's Janipur, Gupta has held several key posts in the past, both in the government and within his party. He was the as speaker of the J&K legislative assembly and also served as mayor of Jammu for three consecutive terms.
He also led the BJP's youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), for two terms and spent 13 months in jail during the emergency as an RSS worker. Gupta was first elected as MLA from Gandhi Nagar assembly constituency in 2014, defeating Congress leader Raman Bhalla.
Gupta's appointment comes at a time when the region was riled in a protracted agitation demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule. 'We want to take Ladakh to a level where it is recognised globally as a top tourism destination—just like other places in the world known for tourism,' he said.
Soon after President announced Gupta's name for the coveted post on Monday, the latter had expressed gratitude to the President Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and the party leadership for reposing their faith in him.
'This is a big responsibility entrusted upon me. I will serve the people of Ladakh and try to come up to their expectations,' he told the media. 'Ladakh was part of Jammu and Kashmir but there were several challenges that came up after it became a UT,' he had said.
Recalling his earlier days, Gupta said that he had no political background. 'My father was an employee. I remained a student leader and worked for the youth,' he said.
3 time Jammu mayor, Gupta, joined RSS when he was 13 years old
Gupta, born on December 2, 1959, joined Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at age of 13. He is a graduate and has three children. He served three consecutive terms as mayor from 2005 to 2010. After which he served as an MLA, assembly speaker and former deputy chief minister of J&K.
In Punjab also he served as state secretary of ABVP for three years.
His father, an employee in the postal and telegraph department, was posted at various places, including Gurdaspur and later Srinagar.
A native of Smailpur village in Samba district, Kavinder Gupta officially joined the BJP in 1988.
In the 2002 and 2008 Assembly elections, Gupta was initially given the BJP mandate from the Jammu West assembly segment, but the party changed its candidates at the last minute.
In the 2014 assembly polls, he was shifted to the Gandhi Nagar assembly segment in Jammu city—then considered a Congress stronghold—where he defeated senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla.
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