ZT TEAM REPORT
Srinagar: President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday appointed former Union Minister Manoj Sinha as the next Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He will replace Girish Chandra Murmu, who resigned on Wednesday.
Mr Sinha has been a member of the BJP National Council from 1989 to 1996. He was elected to the Lower House for a third term in national politics when the BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. He has served as a Union Minister of Communications (independent charge) and Minister of State (MoS), Railways in the Government of India.
In a release confirming the appointment, the President’s House said, “The President has been pleased to appoint Shri Manoj Sinha, to be the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office vice Shri Girish Chandra Murmu.
President Ram Nath Kovind accepted Murmu’s resignation on Thursday, ANI reported.
About Manoj Sinha
His political career began when he was elected as the president of Banaras Hindu University Students Union in 1982. He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996 and repeated the term in 1999. Sinha has been a member of the BJP national council from 1989 to 1996.
Education:
He has a B.Tech And M.Tech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi (earlier called IT-BHU). During his student days, Sinha was the students’ union president in the Banaras Hindu University.
Family:
Manoj Sinha was married to Ms. Neelam Sinha on 8 May 1977. They have a daughter and a son.
History of him as a UP CM candidate:
According to a Hindustan Times report dated 19 March 2017, Manoj Sinha was a strong contender for UP Chief Minister post after BJP’s landslide victory in 2017, however, RSS red flag did not help in Manoj Sinha’s chances of becoming UP chief minister.
The Hindustan Times report also said that there was a perception about him having a soft corner for a particular caste which worked against his favour. He belongs to the Bhumihar caste, a minority in UP.