Former union minister Thawarchand Gehlot, on Sunday, took oath as the governor of Karnataka, replacing the outgoing governor Vajubhai Vala. In a ceremony conducted at the Raj Bhawan, the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Abhay Oka administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 73-year-old BJP leader. Karnataka’s Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, members of the state cabinet, and MP’s and MLA’s of the state were present during the ceremony.
Attended the swearing ceremony of Hon'ble @TCGEHLOT Ji who took oath as the 19th Governor of Karnataka and extended my greetings & wishes to him. Hon'ble Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Shri Abhay Srinivas Oka, outgoing Governor Hon'ble Vajubhai Vala ji were present. pic.twitter.com/9g8L3AY9hv
— B.S.Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) July 11, 2021
Thawarchand Gehlot’s appointment to the Karnataka governor’s post was announced by President Ram Nath Kovind on July 6, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s big cabinet reshuffle, along with the appointment of governor’s of seven other states. Earlier, he served as the union minister of social justice and empowerment in the Modi government. He was also the leader of the house in the Rajya Sabha.
The 73-year-old Dalit leader hails from the state of Madhya Pradesh. He was born on May 18, 1948, in Ujjain and completed his B.A. from Vikram University. He entered the realm of politics through Jan Sangh, the ideological predecessor of the present-day BJP. Gehlot went on to occupy several crucial positions within the party, becoming a member of the party’s Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee.
During his tenure as the BJP’s general secretary, Thawarchand Gehlot served as the arty’s Karnataka in-charge 2 times. He is a three-time MLA from Madhya Pradesh and also got elected to the Lok Sabha four times. Since 2012, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha.