Gangtok: New governor of Sikkim, Laxman Prasad Acharya took oath of office at the Sikkim Raj Bhawan on Thursday.
The oath was administered by Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court Biswanath Somadder in the presence of Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay, along with other cabinet ministers.
Lakshman Acharya is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
A first time governor, Acharya was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council from the Varanasi Division Graduates Constituency in Varanasi district.
Lakshman Prasad Acharya (68), was born in the Ramnagar area of Varanasi and joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at a very young age. He worked as a teacher in RSS-run Bharatia Shishu Mandir in Ramnagar for two years. In 1973, he was arrested over an agitation against the Shimla Agreement. He later served as a general secretary of the Ramnagar unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
In 1990, he entered active politics after being appointed the BJP mandal president. Later, he also served as district general secretary and district president of the BJP’s Varanasi unit. For three years, he was chairman of UP Fisheries Development Corporation.
In 2004, Acharya was appointed the state president of the party’s Scheduled Tribe (ST) Morcha.
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When Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested his first Lok Sabha election from Varanasi in 2014, Acharya was the party’s Kashi regional unit president. The position in the legislative council was the only public office he had held till his appointment as Governor.
Acharya is related to the Kharwar, a schedule tribe with its origin from Mirzapur district of UP.
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