BJP old-timer CP Radhakrishnan replaces Bais as governor of Maharashtra

Radhakrishnan, who was named Maharashtra governor on Sunday, was born on May 4, 1957, in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu

Mumbai: President Droupadi Murmu has appointed CP Radhakrishnan as the new governor of Maharashtra, nearly seventeen months after incumbent Ramesh Bais assumed charge in February 2023. Radhakrishnan, a 67-year-old BJP leader from southern India, was the governor of Jharkhand and held additional charge as governor of Telangana before coming to Maharashtra.

CP Radhakrishnan was earlier governor of Jharkhand and held additional charge as governor of Telangana. ANI

President Murmu has also appointed former speaker of the Maharashtra assembly Haribhau Bagade, 78, as the governor of Rajasthan.

Ramesh Bais, the outgoing governor of Maharashtra, completed five years in office on July 28, 2024. He served as governor of Tripura and Jharkhand before taking over as Maharashtra governor from Bhagat Singh Koshyari last February. It is noteworthy that governors appointed during the first two terms of the Narendra Modi-led government have not received extensions, and Bais’ case was no different.

Radhakrishnan, who was named Maharashtra governor on Sunday, was born on May 4, 1957, in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. He began his political journey at the age of 16 with the Jan Sangh and later joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He served as president of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit from 2004 to 2007 and organised a three-month long ‘rath yatra’ during this period advocating river-linking and eradication of untouchability and terrorism in the country. He was also part of a parliamentary delegation to the United Nations in 2004 and addressed the 58th session of the UN General Assembly.

Radhakrishnan won the Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat twice in the 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha elections. He also lost from Coimbatore twice, in 2014 and 2019.

Haribhau Bagade, who was named governor of Rajasthan on Sunday, has been associated with the RSS since his childhood and the BJP since its Jan Sangh days, when it had no mass base in state. Hailing from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, he first entered the state assembly in 1985 from the Aurangabad East assembly constituency and became a minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government between 1995 and 1999.

Known for his discipline, traditional dressing style in dhoti-kurta, and understanding of the co-operative sector, he continued to work for the party without any complaints even though he was not made a minister between 2014 and 2019. He currently represents the Phulambri assembly constituency as its MLA.

“I received a call from prime minister Narendra Modi around 8.45pm last night. He inquired about my well-being and told me that the party has decided to give some responsibility outside Maharashtra. But he also asked me not to reveal the development with anyone as the President would declare the appointment,” said Bagade.

On Sunday, he was woken up by congratulatory calls on his becoming the governor of Rajasthan, he added.