Kerala state president of the BJP, PS Sreedharan Pillai, has been appointed as the Governor of Mizoram. The appointment is along with three others — Radhakrishna Madhur as Lieutenant Governor of Ladak, Girish Chandra Murmur as Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, and Jammu & Kashmir Governor Sathypal Malik as Governor of Goa.
The office of the President issued a press communication regarding this, late on Friday evening.
"I had received a communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan today asking my address. Should agree to the decision of those including Prime Minister, "Sreedharan Pillai responded to media on the appointment, adding that “everything is for good”.
The 65-year-old Pillai also said that in his political career, he has not asked anyone for any posts in the party or to be a candidate for the election.
"Prime Minister had asked me if I was interested to work outside Kerala. I have accepted the decision of the national leadership of the party. I see this as another way to serve the people,” said Pillai.
Pillai was serving his second term as the state president of the party, after having had a term from 2003-06.
Often known as the 'soft face' in the Kerala unit of the BJP, he rose to this level starting as a student leader of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in the mid-seventies.
Pillai, apart from being a regular BJP candidate in Kerala elections, last contested the Chengannur assembly bye-poll last year in June and soon after the results came, where he finished third behind the traditional two rival political fronts, he was appointed as the new BJP president in 2018, replacing Kummanem Rajasekheran, who was appointed as the Mizoram Governor.
Incidentally, Pillai is the third Keralite to be appointed as Mizoram Governor.
The first was veteran Congress leader Vakkom Purushothaman in 2011.
The BJP failed to win a single seat in Kerala in the Lok Sabha as well as in the bye- elections for five Assembly constituencies held recently.
With IANS inputs