States » SouthPosted at: Oct 23 2026 2:41PM

Om Prakash Mathur sworn in as 29th Governor of Keralam

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 23 (UNI) Former Sikkim Governor and senior BJP leader Om Prakash Mathur was sworn in as the 29th Governor of Keralam at a ceremony held at the Lok Bhavan auditorium here on Friday.
Chief Justice of the High Court of Keralam Soumen Sen administered the oath of office to Mathur in the presence of Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, other ministers, elected representatives and senior government officials.
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang attended the ceremony along with a delegation from the northeastern state.
Mathur succeeds Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who has been transferred to Tamil Nadu as part of the gubernatorial reshuffle announced by President Droupadi Murmu on October 12. Dushyant Gautam has been appointed as the new Governor of Sikkim following Mathur's transfer to Keralam.
Mathur arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday and was accorded an official reception at the technical area of the airport. Satheesan led the reception, which was attended by Speaker Radhakrishnan, ministers, Chief Secretary, Mayor V.V. Rajesh and senior police officials.
On his arrival, Mathur expressed happiness at beginning a new chapter in Kerala, describing it as God's Own Country. He also expressed confidence in contributing to the state's development.
Born on January 2, 1952, in Bedal village in Rajasthan's Pali district, Mathur graduated from Rajasthan University before entering public life as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak in 1972. He worked in different districts of Rajasthan until 1979 and subsequently served as Sangathan Mantri of the Kisan Sangh from 1979 to 1989. He was also imprisoned for 11 months during the Emergency.
Mathur rose through the organisational ranks of the BJP, serving as general secretary (organisation) of its Rajasthan unit from 1989 to 2002 before taking up responsibilities at the national level. He served as the party's all-India secretary and general secretary and was associated with its National Executive from 1989 to 2024.
In 2008, he became president of the BJP's Rajasthan unit and entered the Rajya Sabha. He represented Rajasthan in the Upper House from 2008 to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2022, during which he chaired the Rajya Sabha House Committee.
Mathur also served as the BJP's all-India vice-president from 2015 to 2022 and was a member of its Central Election Committee from 2022 to 2024. His organisational assignments included overseeing party activities and election campaigns in several states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
His appointment as Governor of Keralam brings to the constitutional office a long record of political and organisational experience at the state and national levels.
UNI DS

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