Uttar Pradesh Governor Bl Joshi tendered his resignation here on Tuesday and sent his papers to President Pranab Mukherjee. Joshi was the 26th Governor of the state and happens to be the only incumbent who was granted a second term. He was appointed head of the state during the BSP chief Mayawati’s regime in 2009.
He was re-appointed for a second term on March 6, 2014, just prior to the lok Sabha elections. Joshi took over as Governor on July 28, 2009 from his predecessor TV Rajeswar. Soon after NDA Government’s resounding victory at the lok Sabha polls, there were enough indications of a change of at least seven Governors in different states.
Born in a small village in Rajasthan, Joshi began his career in 1957 with the state police service in Rajasthan and moved to the Govt of India in 1962. During a long service career, he worked on different administrative positions including in the Ministry of Home Affairs, with Prime Ministers lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi, with the High Commissions of India at Islamabad and london, and with the Embassy of India at Washington DC.
He took voluntary retirement from the IPS in 1991 and got involved in social work. After his stint in diplomatic service, Joshi moved to USA in 1993, where he was Director with two large American companies and also worked as Executive Director of an NGO located in California, which awards scholarships to bright and needy students in India. On his return from the US in March 2000, Joshi was appointed member of the Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission, a position equivalent to a High Court Judge, where he worked for four years. He assumed the post of the lt. Governor of Delhi on June 9, 2004, and relinquished this responsibility on being appointed the Governor of Meghalaya in April 2007. In October 2007, he was appointed Governor of the State of Uttarakhand. He was sworn-in Governor of Uttar Pradesh on July 28, 2009 and was reappointed for the second term as Governor of Uttar Pradesh on March 6, 2014.