Manoj Sinha to be new lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir

Former union minister and senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, Manoj Sinha, was on Thursday appointed as Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, the Rashtrapati Bhawan spokesman said.

The Centre has approved the appointment of former Union minister Manoj Sinha as the next Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

He will replace Girish Chandra Murmu who resigned on Wednesday.

Sinha has represented the parliamentary constituency of Ghazipur in eastern Uttar Pradesh thrice in the Lok Sabha. He was defeated by Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Afzal Ansari in last year’s Lok Sabha polls.

President Ram Nath Kovind accepted Murmu’s resignation on Thursday. There is buzz that he is going to be the next Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, replacing Rajiv Mehrishi who completes his term this week on August 7.

Who is Manoj Sinha?

The 61-year-old Sinha was born on July 1, 1959 in Mohanpura of Ghazipur district of eastern UP and has been actively involved in working for the backward villages of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

He was Minister of Communications (independent charge) and Minister of State (MoS), Railways. Sinha is a three-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of Parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha, representing Ghazipur in the Lower House. He maintains a low-profile image, wears his trademark dhoti and long kurta. He is fondly called Vikas Purush by his followers.

Sinha has been a member of the BJP national council from 1989 to 1996. He was elected to the Lower House for a third term in national politics when the BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

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