Senior BJP leader 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.
Gupta took the oath of office at Ladakh Raj Niwas in Leh, administered by Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. Chief Secretary Pawan Kotwal read out the official warrant of appointment.
Gupta, 66, is the third LG of Ladakh, succeeding Brigadier B D 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 positions, including Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in 2018, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and Mayor of Jammu for three consecutive terms (2005–2010). He also led the BJP’s youth wing, BJYM, for two terms and spent 13 months in jail during the Emergency as an RSS worker.
Gupta was first elected MLA from Gandhi Nagar in 2014, defeating Congress leader Raman Bhalla.(KNS)
