Banwarilal Purohit (born 16 April 1940)[3] is an Indian politician. He was the former Governor of Punjab, India and Administrator of Chandigarh from September 2021, Governor of Tamil Nadu from 2017 to 2021, and former Governor of Assam from 2016 to 2017. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was a Member of Parliament from the Nagpur (Lok Sabha constituency) three times, twice as an Indian National Congress member, once as a BJP member.
Banwarilal Purohit | |
|---|---|
 Purohit in February 2017 | |
| 29th Governor of Punjab | |
| In office 31 August 2021 – 28 July 2024 | |
| President | Ram Nath Kovind Droupadi Murmu |
| Chief Minister | Amarinder Singh Charanjit Singh Channi Bhagwant Mann |
| Preceded by | V. P. Singh Badnore |
| Succeeded by | Gulab Chand Kataria |
| 16th Administrator of Chandigarh | |
| In office 31 August 2021 – 28 July 2024 | |
| President | Ram Nath Kovind Droupadi Murmu |
| Preceded by | V. P. Singh Badnore |
| Succeeded by | Gulab Chand Kataria |
| 14th Governor of Tamil Nadu | |
| In office 6 October 2017 – 17 September 2021 | |
| President | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Chief Minister | Edappadi K. Palaniswami M. K. Stalin |
| Preceded by | C. Vidyasagar Rao (additional charge) |
| Succeeded by | R. N. Ravi |
| 25th Governor of Assam | |
| In office 22 August 2016 – 29 September 2017 | |
| President | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Chief Minister | Sarbananda Sonowal |
| Preceded by | Padmanabha Acharya (additional charge) |
| Succeeded by | Jagdish Mukhi |
| 16th Governor of Meghalaya[1] | |
Additional charge | |
| In office 27 January 2017 – 5 October 2017 | |
| President | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Chief Minister | Mukul Sangma |
| Preceded by | V. Shanmuganathan |
| Succeeded by | Ganga Prasad |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha for Nagpur[2] | |
| In office 1984–1991 | |
| Preceded by | Jambuwantrao Dhote |
| Succeeded by | Datta Meghe |
| In office 1996–1998 | |
| Preceded by | Datta Meghe |
| Succeeded by | Vilas Muttemwar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 April 1940 Nawalgarh, Rajputana Agency, British India (present-day Rajasthan, India) |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Residence | Raj Bhavan, Punjab |
Political career
editLater he joined Congress. After Indira Gandhi split the Congress Party and formed Congress (Indira), Purohit was elected as MLA from Nagpur East constituency in 1978, contesting as member of Congress(I), and he was re-elected in 1980 from Nagpur South and became a Minister of State for Urban Development, Slum Improvement and Housing in 1982.
In 1984, he was elected to the 8th Lok Sabha as member of Congress Party.[4] He was re-elected in 1989 on Congress ticket.
Later he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party when it launched a movement to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya and contested Lok Sabha elections in 1991 as the BJP candidate. But he lost to Datta Meghe of Indian National Congress. In 1996, he was elected to 11th Lok Sabha as BJP's candidate.
In 1999, he quit the Bharatiya Janata Party to join the Indian National Congress after he developed serious differences with Pramod Mahajan. He contested the Lok Sabha elections from Ramtek in 1999 but lost.
In 2003, he launched his own party called Vidarbha Rajya Party and contested the Lok Sabha elections from Nagpur in 2004 but lost.
Later on, he again joined the BJP.
In 2009, he again contested on BJP's ticket but lost the election to Vilas Muttemwar of Indian National Congress.
Governorship
editIn August 2016, Purohit was appointed Governor of Assam by replacing Padmanabha Acharya who had additional in-charge of Assam.[5][6][7]
On 30 September 2017 he was appointed Governor of Tamil Nadu by President Ram Nath Kovind. It was the first time that the state has got a full time governor after K Rosaiah retired in August 2016.[8][9][10]
On 27 August 2021 he was appointed the Governor of Punjab (additional charge) and Administrator of Chandigarh (additional charge).[citation needed]
On 9 September 2021, Purohit was appointed the 29th Governor of Punjab. Purohit resigned from the post on 3 February 2024 citing personal reasons. [11] His resignation was accepted on 28 July 2024.[12]
Other career
editPurohit gained ownership of the Nagpur daily newspaper The Hitavada from Servants of India Society in 1979. The newspaper was launched by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1911 and Purohit is its current managing editor. He is also the chairman of Shri Ramdeobaba University RBU in Nagpur.
Early life
editHis father's name is Bhagwandas Purohit, he is married to Pushpa Devi Purohit, and he has three children. Two sons Rajendra Purohit and Rakesh Purohit, daughter Meena Purohit Joshi. He has six grandchildren and a great grandson. His eldest granddaughter, Archana Purohit Agrawal is present CEO of eYantra Industries, Hyderabad. He is also the chairman of Bhavans Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir Nagpur. He is the chairman of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan schools founded by late Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi in 1938.
References
edit
- ^ "President Mukherjee accepts V Shanmuganathan's resignation".
- ^ "Banwarilal Purohit Lok Sabha Profiel". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ "His Excellency Governor of Tamil Nadu". www.assembly.tn.gov.in. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ "Election Analysis 1977-1984, Partywise Comparison". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
- ^ "Banwarilal Purohit sworn in as Assam governor". 22 August 2016.
- ^ "Purohit sworn in as Assam governor". 17 August 2016.
- ^ "Banwarilal Purohit takes oath as Governor of Assam". [permanent dead link]
- ^ "New governors appointed: All you need to know". The Times of India. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ^ "Banwarilal Purohit appointed Tamil Nadu Governor". The Economic Times. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ^ S. Jesudasan, Dennis (6 October 2017). "Banwarilal Purohit sworn in as Governor of Tamil Nadu". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ Gopal, Navjeevan (4 February 2024). "Banwarilal Purohit resigns as Punjab Governor citing 'personal reasons'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "President Murmu accepts Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit's resignation; appoints 6 new governors, reshuffles 3".