Shiv Pratap Shukla took oath as the Governor of Telangana on Wednesday at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad. The oath of office was administered by Aparesh Kumar Singh, Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.
In a moment that surprised many attendees, Shukla took the oath in Telugu, drawing appreciation from those present at the ceremony.
Top Leaders Attend Swearing-in Ceremony
Several prominent leaders and officials attended the event, including Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
Also present were Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar and Legislative Council Chairman Gutha Sukhender Reddy.
Former Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Telangana Congress chief Mahesh Kumar Goud, state BJP president Ramchander Rao, Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao and DGP B Shivadhar Reddy were among other dignitaries in attendance.
Governor to Address Budget Session on March 16
With the Telangana Assembly Budget session scheduled to begin on March 16, the newly appointed Governor will address a joint sitting of both Houses of the state legislature on the same day.
Shukla arrived in Hyderabad on Tuesday, where he was received by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
Appointment by the President
President Droupadi Murmu appointed Shiv Pratap Shukla as the Governor of Telangana last week.
He succeeds Jishnu Dev Varma, who has been appointed as the Governor of Maharashtra. Varma had assumed office as Telangana Governor on July 31, 2024.
Shukla becomes the fourth Governor of Telangana, the state that was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
Earlier Role as Himachal Pradesh Governor
Before this appointment, Shukla served as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, taking oath for the post on February 18, 2023.
Political Career of Shiv Pratap Shukla
Born on April 1, 1952, in Rudrapur village of Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh, Shukla was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad during his student days.
He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1983 and was first elected as an MLA from the Gorakhpur Nagar Assembly constituency in 1989. He was re-elected in 1991 and served as Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Basic Education, Adult Education and the Language Department in the government led by former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh.
During his political career, he also handled departments such as Horticulture, Sports, Youth Welfare and Food Processing.
After being elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly again in 1996, Shukla served as Cabinet Minister for Prison, Law and Justice and Rural Development in the governments led by Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh.
In 2016, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. A year later, he became Minister of State for Finance in the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He served as a Rajya Sabha member until July 4, 2022.
