Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot (73) has been appointed as the Governor of Karnataka by the President of India.
Gehlot, a prominent Dalit leader from Madhya Pradesh, a two-time Rajya Sabha member currently serving as the leader of the House, succeeds Vajubhai Vala (83), who is one of the longest-serving governors in the state.
Vala, who was appointed as the governor in September 2014, had an eventful tenure after a hung verdict in the May 2018 Assembly polls marked the beginning of a high-voltage political circus in the state. While no political party won a clear majority in the elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats (seven short of majority) and staked claim to form the government.
On the other hand, the Congress party which won 78 seats mooted a Congress-JDS coalition and even agreed to hand over the chief minister's post to H.D. Kumaraswamy, though JDS had won only 40 seats, to keep the BJP out of power.
Even as the JD(S)-Congress combine staked claim to form the government, Vala chose to invite the BJP to form the government stating it was the single largest party. However, BJP’s CM-designate B.S. Yediyurappa took the oath as CM but was forced to resign within two days after he failed to garner a majority. The Congress and the JDS alleged the BJP's "Operation Kamala" (attempts to poach their MLAs) had failed.
Vala also witnessed dramatic political developments in July 2019 too--mass defection of sitting MLAs and ministers from the Congress and the JDS, disqualification of rebel MLAs by the speaker, which eventually led to the collapse of the coalition government and formation of a BJP government in the state.
With Karnataka slated to go to polls in 2023, the role of Gehlot, new governor assumes significance as the state has endured hung assemblies, coalition governments and political instability. However, Gehlot's past experience as the general secretary in-charge of the BJP in Karnataka, might now come in handy.
Gehlot, who will be moving into the sprawling Raj Bhavan in the heart of Bengaluru, was born in Rupeta village, Ujjain district in Madhya Pradesh and graduated in arts from Vikram University, Ujjain.
Gehlot represented the Shajapur Lok Sabha seat between 1996 and 2009. However, he contested from the Dewas parliamentary constituency (following delimitation) and lost. He entered the Rajya Sabha in 2012 and was re-elected to the Upper House of the Parliament from Madhya Pradesh in 2018 and inducted into the Modi cabinet a second time in 2019.
A member of BJP's Parliamentary Board, Gehlot’s Rajya Sabha term was to end only in 2024. But his appointment as the governor is hinting at a reshuffle in the Union cabinet, according to BJP sources.
