Kambhampati Hari Babu takes oath as new governor of Mizoram

Aizawl: Senior BJP leader and former Lok Sabha member from Andra Pradesh Dr Kambhampati Hari Babu was sworn in as the new governor of Mizoram on Monday.

He is the 22nd governor of Mizoram after it attained statehood in 1987.

Hari Babu replaced PS Sreedharan Pillai, who was newly appointed the governor of Goa.

Gauhati High Court judge Justice Michael Zothankhuma administered the oath of office and secrecy to Hari Babu at a small packed swearing-in ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Aizawl.

Due to the coronavirus-induced total lockdown being in place in the state capital, the swearing-in-ceremony was attended by only a handful of special invitees, including chief minister Zoramthanga and his cabinet colleagues, state chief secretary, director general of police (DGP) and leaders of political parties and leading NGOs.

Born in 1953 at Thimmasamudram of Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district, Hari Babu graduated with a B Tech (Electronics and Communication engineering) degree from Andhra University and obtained Master’s degree and doctorate degree in electrical and control systems from the same university.

He entered active politics in 1993 after his voluntary retirement from his 24-year-long teaching profession (associate professor) at the university’s engineering college.

He was elected to Andra Pradesh legislative from Visakhapatnam-I seat in 1999 and made the floor leader for the Bharatiya Janata Legislature Party in 2003.

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He became the president of Andhra Pradesh State BJP in 2014 and eventually elected to the 16th Lok Sabha from Vishakhapatnam in 2014.

Prior to his appointment as the governor of Mizoram, Dr Hari Babu held an important position as BJP National Executive Member (2018-2021).

By virtue of his hardwork, Dr Hari Babu has quite remarkable achievements of being an eminent scholar as well as a successful lawmaker in his various capacities and key positions at the same time.