Governor of Purvanchal
| Governor of Purvanchal पूर्वांचल के राज्यपाल | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Style | His/Her Excellency |
| Reports to | Rashtradhyaksh Government of Vishwamitra |
| Appointer | Rashtradhyaksh on the advice of the union council of ministers and the privy council |
| Term length | At His Illustrious and Royal Majesty's pleasure |
| Constituting instrument | Governorship Act, 2023 |
| Formation |
|
| First holder | Arnab Sil |
The Governor of Purvanchal (Hindi: पूर्वांचल के राज्यपाल) is the vice-regal representative of the Rashtradhyaksh, the federal ruler and the union government in the state and the ceremonial deputy head of state of the state of Purvanchal who serves as the deputy to the Rajpramukh of Purvanchal, the hereditary executive ruler of the state. The governor is responsible for assisting the Rajpramukh and the state government in the discharge of the administrative and other functions. The governor is also eligible to act as the head of state in the case of the absence of the Rajpramukh.
The position of the governor first came into existence in 2017 after the bifurcation of Greater Guwahati state from North Guwahati. At the time of the first creation, the governor served as the head of state and was responsible for the entire administration of the state. Following Vishwamitra's transition to a monarchy in 2020, the responsibilities rendered by the state governors were transferred to the hereditary rulers known as Rajpramukhs.
In March 2023, the Governorship Bill, 2023 was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Deputy Prime Minister and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia and was subsequently passed by the parliament. The bill received royal assent on 17 March 2023 and thus became an act. Soon after receiving assent, following the provisions laid in the act, the governors of the states were appointed. Asmi Patranabis is currently serving as the governor since 28 July 2024.
History
First creation (2017–2020)
The first instance of the creation of governors of states can be traced to September 2016 when the position was created in North Guwahati and Beltola after their creations. In January 2017, following the passing of the North Guwahati State Re-organization Bill, 2017 by the Senate, the state of Greater Guwahati came into existence which in the course of time came to known as Brihattar Guwahati and Purvanchal. The administration of the state was placed under a presidential nominee, the governor who was designated as the head of state and de jure executive while the chief minister was the de facto executive and the head of the government.
Arnab Sil was appointed to serve as the first governor on 2 January 2017 and sworn-in into office on 11 January 2017. He remained in office until resigning from the position to join the union cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister on 12 April 2017. He was replaced by Rajdeep Deka.
On 2 February 2020, the role of the governor was replaced by the Governor-General who became the head of the dominion of Purvanchal. Prior to the appointment of the governor-general, most governors who were appointed were non-local to the state exception to the first office-holder. The position of governor was re-introduced in May 2020. The position remained in use till its abolition on 8 June 2020 following Vishwamitra's transition to a monarchy. The duties of the governor were transferred to the Rajpramukh of Purvanchal, who is the hereditary executive monarch of the state.
Second creation (2023–present)
The position of the governor came into existence for the second time in 2023 after the passage of the Governorship Act, 2023 by the Lok Sabha and its receiving royal assent on 17 March 2023. Under the provisions of the act, the governors are to be the vice-regal representative of the Rashtradhyaksh and shall serve as deputy to the hereditary state rulers and act as head of state whenever needed. Arnab Deka, who also holds the record of serving as the longest-serving governor of Purvanchal during the previous creation was appointed to serve as the first governor after the position's re-introduction on 17 March 2023.
Functions and role
The governor served as the head of state of Purvanchal between 2017 and 2020 having control over large range of responsibilities in the governance of the state. The functions of the governor included:
- discharging the day-to-day affairs of the state.
- maintain law and order and general administration of the state.
- communicate and brief the President about activities in the state.
- appoint the chief minister and other officials upon approval of the President.
Following the re-introduction of the position in March 2023, the functions of the governor have been reduced to largely ceremonial ones. The governor, being the vice-regal representative of the Rashtradhyaksh, shares their duties and functions with the Rajpramukh and performs the functions whenever needed as asked by the Rashtradhyaksh. The principal duty rendered by the governor is to act as a bridge in the communication between the state government and the central government and to relay information to the central government and to convey information from the central government to that of the state.
List
Governor of Greater Guwahati (2017) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Portrait | Name (born–died) |
Home state | Term start | Term end | Term length | President | Prime Minister | |
| 1 | 
|
His Excellency Arnab Sil (born 2004) |
Greater Guwahati | 2 January 2017 |
12 April 2017 |
100 days | Klarissa Sriraya | Varuna Sriraya | |
| 2 | 
|
His Excellency Rajdeep Deka (born 2002) |
North Guwahati | 12 April 2017 |
7 May 2017 |
25 days | Varuna Sriraya | Klarissa Sriraya | |
Governor of Brihattar Guwahati (2017–2019) | |||||||||
| No. | Portrait | Name (born–died) |
Home state | Term start | Term end | Term length | President | Prime Minister | |
| 3 | 
|
Her Excellency Anoushkaa Patranabish (born 2010) |
South Guwahati | 7 May 2017 |
5 July 2017 |
59 days | Varuna Sriraya | Klarissa Sriraya | |
| 4 | 
|
His Excellency Arnab Deka (born 2002) |
Uttar Guwahati | 6 July 2017 |
4 February 2019 |
1 year, 213 days | Tanishkaa Patranabish | ||
| Anoushkaa Patranabish | Varuna Sriraya | ||||||||
| Varuna Sriraya | Tanishkaa Patranabish | ||||||||
| Vacant | |||||||||
| Tanishkaa Patranabish | |||||||||
| 6 | .svg)
|
Her Excellency Reshmi Hazarika (born 2003) |
Basistha | 4 February 2019 |
20 July 2019 |
166 days | |||
| 7 | 
|
His Excellency Anirban Phatowali (born 2009) |
Uttar Guwahati | 20 July 2019 |
29 July 2019 |
9 days | |||
Governor of Purvanchal (2019–2020) | |||||||||
| No. | Portrait | Name (born–died) |
Home state | Term start | Term end | Term length | President | Prime Minister | |
| (7) |
|
His Excellency Anirban Phatowali (born 2009) |
Uttar Guwahati | 29 July 2019 |
1 September 2019 |
34 days | Varuna Sriraya | Tanishkaa Patranabish | |
| Rajdeep Deka, the Governor of Kamrupa held additional charge from 1 September 2019 until 4 September 2019. | |||||||||
| (2) |
|
His Excellency Rajdeep Deka (born 2002) |
Uttaranchal | 4 September 2019 |
9 December 2019 |
96 days | Varuna Sriraya | Tanishkaa Patranabish | |
| 8 | 
|
Her Excellency Asmi Patranabis (born 2007) |
Beltola | 9 December 2019 |
2 February 2020 |
55 days | |||
Governor-General of Purvanchal (2020) | |||||||||
| No. | Portrait | Name (born–died) |
Home state | Term start | Term end | Term length | President | Prime Minister | |
| 9 | .svg)
|
His Excellency Bhargab Jyoti Medhi (born 2001) |
Purvanchal | 2 February 2020 |
13 May 2020 |
101 days | Varuna Sriraya | Tanishkaa Patranabish | |
| Anoushkaa Patranabish | |||||||||
| Tanishkaa Patranabish | |||||||||
| Tanishkaa Patranabish | Position vacant | ||||||||
Governor of Purvanchal (2020) | |||||||||
| No. | Portrait | Name (born–died) |
Home state | Term start | Term end | Term length | President | Prime Minister | |
| 10 | 
|
His Excellency Mridul Amin (born 2003) |
Uttaranchal | 13 May 2020 |
7 June 2020 |
25 days | Tanishkaa Patranabish | Position vacant | |
| Position abolished on 8 June 2020 | |||||||||
Governor of Purvanchal (2023–present) | |||||||||
| No. | Portrait | Name (born–died) |
Home state | Term start | Term end | Term length | Monarch | Prime Minister | |
| 1 |
|
His Excellency Tan Sri Dato Sri Utama Arnab Deka (born 2002) |
Uttaranchal | 17 March 2023 |
5 November 2023 |
233 days | Varuna Sriraya | Farhaz Hazarika | |
| 2 |
|
His Excellency Tan Sri Dato Sri Utama Rajdeep Deka (born 2002) |
Uttaranchal | 5 November 2023 |
29 March 2024 |
145 days | |||
| Position vacant during the interval | |||||||||
| 3 |
|
Her Royal Highness Maha Sri Indra Asmi Patranabis Senior Princess of Beltola (born 2007) |
Beltola | 28 July 2024 |
Incumbent | 103 days | Varuna Sriraya | Klarissa Sriraya | |
Timeline
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Time in office
- Longest serving: Arnab Deka (current, 3 years, 85 days)
- Shortest serving: Mridul Amin (25 days)
Below is the list of the governors of Purvanchal by total time in office:
- Arnab Deka – 3 years, 85 days
- Reshmi Hazarika – 166 days
- Rajdeep Deka – 124 days
- Bhargab Jyoti Medhi – 101 days
- Arnab Sil – 100 days
- Anoushkaa Patranabish – 59 days
- Asmi Patranabis – 55 days
- Anirban Phatowali – 43 days
- Mridul Amin – 25 days