Rajendra Arlekar (born 23 April 1954) is an Indian statesman who is current and 29th Governor of Bihar.[2] He previously served as the 21st Governor of Himachal Pradesh, being the first person serving as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh from Goa. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Government of Goa and a former speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly. He is a leader of Bharatiya Janata Party.
Rajendra Arlekar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 29th Governor of Bihar | |
| Assumed office 17 February 2023 | |
| President | Droupadi Murmu |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Chief Minister | Nitish Kumar |
| Preceded by | Phagu Chauhan |
| 21st Governor of Himachal Pradesh | |
| In office 13 July 2021 – 16 February 2023 | |
| President | Ram Nath Kovind Droupadi Murmu |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Chief Minister | Jai Ram Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu |
| Preceded by | Bandaru Dattatreya |
| Succeeded by | Shiv Pratap Shukla |
| Cabinet Minister of Forest, Environment and Panchayat Government of Goa | |
| In office 1 October 2015 – 2017 [1] | |
| Chief Minister | Laxmikant Parsekar |
| Member of Goa Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 2012–2017 | |
| Preceded by | Dayanand Sopte |
| Succeeded by | Manohar Ajgaonkar |
| Constituency | Pernem |
| In office 2002–2007 | |
| Preceded by | Jose Philip D'Souza |
| Succeeded by | Jose Philip D'Souza |
| Constituency | Vasco |
| Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 2012–2015 | |
| Preceded by | Pratapsingh Rane |
| Succeeded by | Anant Shet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 April 1954 Panaji, Portuguese Empire, Portuguese India (present-day Goa, India) |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Anagha Arlekar |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Raj Bhavan, Patna, Bihar, India |
| Profession | Politician |
| Website | www |
Political career
editArlekar has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since his childhood. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1989. He has been an active member of the Goa BJP since the 1980s. He has held various positions which include the following: General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, Goa Pradesh. Chairman, Goa Industrial Development Corporation. Chairman, Goa State Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes Financial Development Corporation. General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, Goa. South Goa President, Bharatiya Janata Party.
When Manohar Parrikar was roped in as the Union Defence Minister in 2014, Arlekar was considered for the next Chief Minister but the Party chose Laxmikant Parsekar as the next Chief Minister instead.
He is credited with making Goa Legislative Assembly paperless, the first state assembly to do so.
In 2015, he was appointed the Minister for Environment and Forests during the reshuffling of the cabinet.
On 6 July 2021, he was appointed Himachal Pradesh's Governor when the incumbent Bandaru Dattatreya was made the governor of Haryana. Arlekar thanked the Party and stated that BJP is a Party where the work of each and every member is recognized.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Pernem MLA Rajendra Arlekar takes oath as minister ia". Times of India. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- ^ "New Bihar governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar takes oath". The Hindu. 17 February 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ "Ex-Goa Speaker Rajendra Arlekar is new Himachal Governor". Lokmat English. IANS. 6 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.