Bhubaneswar: Biswabhusan Harichandan’s term as the Governor of Chhattisgarh has come to an end, with former Assam MP Ramen Deka appointed as his successor late Saturday night. Harichandan, a veteran leader from Odisha, had previously served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh from 2019 to 2023 before being transferred to Chhattisgarh last year.
The seasoned Odia leader Harichandan has garnered considerable respect for his service as Governor in both Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. With his five-year term now complete, Chhattisgarh welcomes its new governor.
Including Biswabhusan, nine individuals from Odisha have held the Governor post across various states, etching their names in history. Utkal Keshari Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab was the first Odia to serve as a Governor. He held the post of Governor of Bombay Province (now Gujarat and Maharashtra), from 1955 to 1956.
Subsequently, in 1962, Bishwanath Das became the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, the second Odia to do so, serving until 1967. Nityanand Kanungo followed, was appointed as the Governor of Gujarat in 1965, and continued his service in Gujarat and Bihar until 1971.
In 1989, Chintamani Panigrahi, a former Union Minister and senior Congress leader, was appointed as the Governor of Manipur, serving until 1993. In 1991, Surendranath Dwivedi and Lokanath Misra were also appointed as governors; Dwivedi in Arunachal Pradesh and Misra in Assam. Dwivedi was on the post till 1993, while Misra continued in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland until 1997.
In 2009, former Odisha Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik was appointed as the Governor of Assam, a position he held till 2014. In 2015, Droupadi Murmu, who is now the President, was appointed as the Governor of Jharkhand. She completed her five-year term before becoming the President of India.
It is noteworthy that Girish Chandra Murmu, an Odia IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, served as the first Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Murmu, belonging to the 1985 batch from Mayurbhanj district, assumed charge after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. He was sworn in as the Lieutenant Governor on October 31. Now he has been appointed as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
Biswabhusan Harichandan was appointed as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh in 2019 and transferred to Chhattisgarh in 2023. Following his tenure, there is currently no other Odia holding a governor position.
