After a gap of 19 months, the poll bound Punjab on Monday got a regular Governor. Senior BJP leader from Rajasthan and former Member of Parliament VP Singh Badnore was sworn in as Punjab Governor.
Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki has been holding the additional charge of Punjab after Shivraj Patil completed his term on January 21, 2015.
Badnore will also be the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Notably, the BJP led Central Government had initiated a move to de-link the post of Chandigarh's Administrator from the post of Punjab Governor, but owning political pressure, by the ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the move was stalled.
Badnore, who took the oath in English, was sworn-in by Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice SJ Vazifdar at Punjab Raj Bhawan, amidst rain.
Coming from a royal background, Badnore, a four-time legislator and former Irrigation Minister from Rajasthan, was first elected to the lok Sabha from Bhilwara parliamentary constituency in 1999 and retained the seat in 2004. In 2010, Badnore was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
Besides Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Rajiv Partap Rudi, Maneka Gandhi, and Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh, Punjab cabinet Ministers, MPs, and senior officers of Punjab Government were present at the swearing-in ceremony.