Seasoned Politician With Clean Reputation: Meet Manoj Sinha, The New J&K Lieutenant Governor

In 2017, Manoj Sinha was followed vigorously by TV cameras, even got himself a helicopter, and was almost certain to be UP Chief Minister, before the position went to Yogi Adityanath.

New Delhi: Former Union Minister and a seasoned BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, Manoj Sinha on Thursday replaced GC Murmu to take his seat at the Srinagar Raj Bhawan and become the newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

A three-time Parliament member, Sinha is known to be a hard taskmaster, credited time and again for the swift completion of projects during his time as a minister.

In a late-night surprise on Wednesday, former IAS officer Girish Chandra Murmu tendered his resignation and paved way for the 61-year-old leader who expressed confidence that his appointment will usher in development in the newly formed union territory.

What helped Manoj Sinha land his new role?

Sinha started his career in politics young from the ABVP during his student days at Benaras Hindu University (BHU). At the age of 23, he became the student president at BHU, but it was not until 1998 that he got elected to the Lok Sabha and again in 1999.

Sinha wore many hats over the course of his career – a former Minister of State for Railways, an IIT graduate, a man who transformed Ghazipur with his developmental initiatives. A popular figure known to connect with his people, Sinha earned the title of ‘Vikas Purush‘ (Mr Development).

After a long hiatus, Sinha returned to Lok Sabha in 2014. The newly-elected PM Modi appointed him to the Union Cabinet. In 2017, he was followed vigorously by TV cameras, even got himself a helicopter, and was almost certain to be UP Chief Minister, before the position went to Yogi Adityanath.

The ex-civil engineer is known to keep a clean image, hardly ever slipped into controversies or comments that proved an embarrassment to his party or the government.

The UP man, an IIT alumnus, was the perfect fit for this new role who brings hope to accelerate the region’s economic development.

There is a controversy this time

The sudden resignation and the appointment of Jammu and Kashmir came at a sensitive time – exactly one year after the revocation of Article 370.

Earlier today, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah saw a “strange coincidence” in the resignation of Girish Chandra Murmu, saying the last J&K governor (Satya Pal Malik) and its first Lieutenant-Governor have been “removed” from Raj Bhavan when “they least expected it”.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has also expressed distrust over Manoj Sinha fearing that his appointment is ‘too saffron’.

The Centre had appointed Satya Pal Malik as the final governor of the erstwhile state before it was bifurcated into union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year. He is now the Governor of Goa.

Meanwhile, GC Murmu, who faced the heat over the administration’s resistance to restore 4G internet services in the Valley, has been appointed as the country’s new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), as incumbent Rajiv Mehrishi will be retiring this week.