J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik accorded guard of honour in Srinagar

Srinagar, Aug 30: Satya Pal Malik, who was sworn-in as the Jammu and Kashmir Governor on August 23, was on Thursday accorded Guard of Honour by the state police.

Malik took oath as the Governor on August 23. J&K High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal administered the oath of office to Malik at a low-key ceremony arranged at Raj Bhavan in Srinagar.

He is the first politician to be appointed as the state's Governor in more than four decades. Malik replaced career bureaucrat NN Vohra who successfully completed two terms as the governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Vohra was appointed the governor in 2008 and 2014. His term ended in June, but it was extended keeping in mind the Amarnath yatra.

Malik receives Guard of Honour

The government on August 21 announced that BJP leader Satyapal Malik, who was then the Governor of Bihar, would be the next Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

Karan Singh was the last Governor of Jammu and Kashmir with a political background. He served from 1965 to 1967. The appointment of Malik, who will head the administration in the border state, also comes against the backdrop of the changing political scenario amid speculation of the possibility of some disgruntled MLAs in the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP joining hands with the BJP.

(Image courtesy - ANI/Twitter)

Malik inspects Guard of Honour

When NN Vohra's term as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir ended on June 28, 2018, speculations were rife as to who would replace him. Several names, from Lieutenant General DS Hooda to Major General GD Bakshi, were doing the rounds since then. Lt.Gen.Syed Ata Hasnain was also seen as the contender for the post. Since 1967, the post has been occupied only by retired civil servants, diplomats, police officers and Army generals.

(Image courtesy - ANI/Twitter)

Satya Pal Malik with Rajnath Singh

Malik, who has been associated with almost all political parties, started as a socialist leader in Meerut University during his student days to finally become the vice president of the BJP before being appointed as the Bihar governor last year. Malik was with the Bhartiya Kranti Dal, Lok Dal, Congress and Janata Dal and the BJP during his long political career. He became the MLA of Charan Singh's Bhartiya Kranti Dal from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh in 1974.

Malik took over from NN Vohra

He joined the Congress in 1984 and became its Rajya Sabha MP but resigned three years later in the background of Bofors scam. He switched to the V P Singh-led Janata Dal in 1988 and became an MP from Aligarh on its ticket in 1989. In 2004, Malik joined the BJP and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections, losing to Charan Singh's son Ajit Singh. Before taking oath as Bihar governor on October 4, 2017, he was in-charge of the BJP's Kisan Morcha.