Bhubaneswar: Former BJP Minister Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, appointed as Governor of Andhra Pradesh, is the ninth Odisha leader to have been appointed Governor and the second after Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu to have got the gubernatorial assignment during the NDA regime, starting 2014.
Here is the list of political stalwarts from Odisha who were appointed the first person of different states.
Harekrushna Mahatab (Bombay)
During his tenure as Chief Minister from 1946 to 1950, he played a significant role in the merger and integration of former princely states, shifting of the capital from Cuttack to Bhubaneshwar and the sanction and construction of the multi-purpose Hirakud Dam Project.
He joined the Central government as Minister for Industry and Supply in May 1950 and was instrumental in setting up various industries, including Biju Patnaik’s Kalinga Tubes factory.
He died on January 2, 1987, at the age of 87.
Nityanand Kanungo (Gujarat & Bihar)
A member of the Indian National Congress, he was elected to the Odisha Assembly in 1937 and again in 1946. He was the Revenue and Public Works Minister in the Cabinet of Biswanath Das from 1937 to 1939 and looked after the Home, Law, Industries and Agriculture portfolios when Congress formed the government again in 1946.
He held high profile portfolios – Union Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry, Union Minister of Industries, Union Minister of Consumer Industries, Union Minister of Commerce, Union Minister for Commerce and Industries and Union Minister for Civil Aviation – in the Jawaharlal Nehru government.
He represented Kendrapara and Cuttack constituencies in the Lok Sabha.
He died on August 2, 1988, at the age of 88.
Biswanath Dash (Uttar Pradesh)
He was the Prime Minister of Odisha Province of British India 1937–39, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh 1962–67 and later, the Chief Minister of Odisha 1971–72.
Surendra Nath Dwivedi (Arunachal Pradesh)
He was elected to the second, third and fourth Lok Sabha from 1957 to 1970, representing Kendrapara Parliamentary Constituency of Odisha. Earlier, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1952 to 1956.
He died on October 1, 2001, in Rourkela at the age of 88.
Lokanath Misra (Assam, Nagaland & Arunachal Pradesh)
A Rajya Sabha member, he was the Governor of Assam during 1991-1997, Governor of
The elder son of poet and notable socialist Godabarish Mishra and brother of former Chief Justice of India Ranganath Mishra, he died on May 27, 2009, in Bhubaneswar.
His son, Pinaki Misra is a senior BJD leader and an MP from the Puri Lok Sabha constituency.
Chintamani Panigrahi (Manipur)
Panigrahi represented the Communist Party of India in the 2nd Lok Sabha in 1957 from the Puri constituency. He later joined the Indian National Congress and was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1967, 1971, 1980 and 1984 from Bhubaneswar. He also served as the Minister of State for Home Affairs (1986–88), Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence (1988–89).
He died on April 29, 2000, in Bhubaneswar.
J B Patnaik (Assam)
A noted writer, JB graduated in Sanskrit from Utkal University in 1947 and did his post-graduation in political science from Banaras Hindu University in 1949. He became the president of the Orissa Congress’s youth wing, a year later and Union minister for tourism, civil aviation and labour in 1980.
He passed away at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh at the age of 89. He was there to attend the convocation of Tirupati Sanskrit University and died after complaining of chest pain.
Draupadi Murmu (Jharkhand)
Biswa Bhusan Harichandan (Andhra Pradesh)
Talking to mediapersons, Harichandan has said that he would try to resolve these issues.
The BJP leader was elected to Odisha Assembly five times from Chilika and Bhubaneswar constituencies. He also held the portfolios of law, revenue and fisheries under the BJP-BJD coalition government in the state. His political career started with Bharatiya Jana Sangha in 1971. He was also a member of Janata Party. He later joined the BJP and was its president for Odisha from 1980 to 1988.
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