CHANDIGARH: The 81-year old Prof Ashim Kumar Ghosh, a veteran BJP leader from West Bengal, has been appointed as the Governor of Haryana, over two decades after retreating from active politics.
The name surprised many, even within his own party. Ghosh will take over as Governor from veteran BJP leader and former Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya who had completed his tenure and might be absorbed in organisational role as per sources.
A soft-spoken former professor at Shri Shikshayatan College in North Kolkata he joined the party in 1991 under the mentorship of senior leader Prabhakar Tiwari, and that very year contested the Kasipur Assembly seat but he lost.
In 1996, he was appointed as the state secretary of the saffron party and within two years he was elevated to post of vice-president of the state unit. Then, in 1999, he was appointed the West Bengal BJP president after Union Minister Tapan Sikdar relinquished the post of state president and remained on the post till 2002.
In the elections held in 2000, Ghosh narrowly defeated veteran leader Sukumar Bandyopadhyay by just 34 votes.
During his tenure as state unit president, the saffron party consolidated in West Bengal. While the party did not emerge as a dominant force during that time, Ghosh laid the groundwork by making the party's organisational structure and building cadre, said sources. Sources said that when his term as state president of the party ended, he gradually withdrew from active politics.
For a brief period he was in the national-level BJP committee. But in last few months he had been attending party events, around the time Samik Bhattacharya was appointed as the state party president. During the second stint of Rahul Sinha was Bengal BJP chief, Ghosh began attending party events again.
Congratulating Ghosh for being appointed as the Governor of Haryana, Union Minister of State for Education and DoNER, Sukanta Majumdar in a post on X said: “It is a matter of immense honour and joy for the people of West Bengal that Professor Shri Asim Kumar Ghosh, a distinguished academician and seasoned statesman, has been appointed as the Governor of Haryana by the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji.”
Mentioning that Ghosh had previously served with distinction as the state President of the BJP, West Bengal from 1999 to 2002, Majumdar added, “His profound intellect, rich administrative experience, and unwavering commitment to public service have long been a source of inspiration for many. I extend my warmest congratulations and best wishes to him as he embarks on this new constitutional responsibility. I am confident that his visionary leadership will greatly contribute to the progress and welfare of the people of Haryana.”