Jishnu Dev Varma, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Tripura, was sworn in as the new Governor of Telangana on Wednesday. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe of the Telangana High Court in a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan. At 67 years old, Varma becomes the fourth Governor of Telangana, having been appointed on July 27. He happened to be the first person from Tripura to have been appoionted as Governor of a state.
The swearing in of Dev Varma saw the attendance of prominent figures including Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, several ministers, and top officials. Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari read aloud the warrant of appointment issued by the President of India, formalizing Varma’s new role. Union Minister for Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, along with leaders from the BJP, Congress, and BRS, were also present at the ceremony.
Upon his arrival with wife in Hyderabad at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport earlier in the day, Dev Varma was warmly received by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. The new Governor was also honoured with a guard of honour from the armed police personnel. Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, Director General of Police Jitender, officials from the three wings of the armed forces, government advisor H. Venugopal Rao, and other dignitaries were on hand to welcome Varma.
Dev Varma succeeds CP Radhakrishnan, who has been appointed as the new Governor of Maharashtra. Radhakrishnan had been serving in an additional capacity as the Governor of Telangana and Jharkhand since March, and was also fulfilling the duties of Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. His additional responsibilities came after the resignation of Tamilisai Soundararajan, who left to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu.
Notably, all three of Dev Varma’s predecessors as Governor of Telangana since its formation in 2014 were from Tamil Nadu: ESL Narasimhan, Tamilisai Soundararajan, and CP Radhakrishnan.
Before his appointment as Governor, he held the portfolios in various ministries including Power, Rural Development, Panchayat Raj, Finance, Planning, Science and Technology, and Environment. He contested the Assembly election in 2023 from Charilam in Sepahijala District but was not successful.
