BJP veteran Om Prakash Mathur appointed Kerala Governor, succeeds Arlekar

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 13 (UNI) Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Rajya Sabha member Om Prakash Mathur has been appointed as the new Governor of Kerala, succeeding Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, as part of a gubernatorial reshuffle.

Mathur, who served as Governor of Sikkim before his appointment to Kerala, has a long career in the BJP's organisational structure, holding several key positions at the state and national levels. His political experience includes election management in several states, two terms in the Rajya Sabha and a tenure as the party's all-India vice-president.

Born on January 2, 1952, in Bedal village in Pali district of Rajasthan, Mathur graduated from Rajasthan University. He began his association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1972 as a Pracharak and worked in various districts of Rajasthan until 1979. From 1979 to 1989, he served as 'Sangathan Mantri' of the Kisan Sangh. His official profile also records that he was imprisoned for 11 months during the Emergency. Mathur subsequently rose through the BJP's organisational ranks in Rajasthan, serving as general secretary (organisation) from 1989 to 2002.

He held several national-level responsibilities, including those of all-India secretary and general secretary, and served on the party's National Executive from 1989 to 2024. He was appointed BJP Rajasthan state president in 2008 and entered Parliament the same year as a Rajya Sabha member. He served his first term from 2008 to 2014 and returned to the Upper House for a second term from 2016 to 2022, during which he chaired the House Committee. Mathur served as the BJP's all-India vice-president from 2015 to 2022. He was also a member of the party's Central Election Committee from 2022 to 2024.

His organisational assignments included overseeing the BJP's activities and election campaigns in Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh at different points in his career. These responsibilities gave him extensive experience in party organisation and electoral management across states. His appointment marks a change at Kerala Lok Bhavan following Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar's appointment as Governor of Tamil Nadu, while Dushyant Gautam will succeed Mathur as Governor of Sikkim.

UNI DS