J&K's L-G Manoj Sinha calls on President Kovind & VP Naidu in Delhi after oath-taking

The newly appointed  Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha called on President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, August 10. The Lieutenant Governor also called on Vice President Venkaiah Naidu at the latter's residence-Upa Rashtrapati Nivas on the same day.

Sinha takes oath as Lt Governor of J&K

Former Union minister Manoj Sinha took oath as Lt Governor of the Union Territory on Friday, August 7. Sinha succeeds former IAS officer Girish Chandra Murmu, who resigned on Wednesday and was appointed as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Thursday.

Sinha is the first political leader to take charge of the union territory as an L-G. The 61-year-old was administered the oath of office by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Justice Gita Mittal in Raj Bhavan, at the foothills of the Zaberwan range.

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Advisors to the previous Lieutenant Governors including Farooq Khan and Baseer Khan along with the senior bureaucrats and policemen were present at the oath-taking ceremony. Rajya Sabha member Nazir Ahmed Laway, BJP Lok Sabha member Jugal Kishore Sharma and Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party leaders Ghulam Hasan Mir were also present.

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Overview of Sinha's political career

A three-time BJP Member of Parliament from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, Sinha served as the Minister of State for Communications and Railways in the previous term of the Modi government. However, he lost the Lok Sabha election from Ghazipur in 2019. Sinha is said to enjoy PM Narendra Modi’s trust and confidence for decades. In 2017, he was widely pitched to be the Chief Minister of UP after BJP’s remarkable victory. After PM Modi returned from the grand Bhoomi Pujan ceremony in Ayodhya on Wednesday, he called Manoj Sinha and conveyed the news which he humbly accepted, as per sources.

Challenges ahead of Sinha as the J&K LG

It is believed that Sinha’s appointment is a great thrust to create a conducive environment for the BJP to begin the political process in the Union Territory. The first and biggest challenge that the UP native may face in Kashmir is preparing the ground for elections that are long overdue. For this, Sinha will have to instil confidence in the people, who’ve been much conflicted since the abrogation of Article 370.

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