Jammu, July 14 (IANS) Newly appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, senior BJP leader Kavinder Gupta, on Monday assured the people of the Union Territory that he would diligently fulfil his responsibilities and address the challenges they face.

Speaking to IANS 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.

–IANS

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