Gorakhpur: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shiv Pratap Shukla was appointed as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh by President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday. After the release of the formal appointment letter, Shukla's family and party workers rejoiced with happiness. The five-time MLA from Gorakhpur and former Union Minister of State for Finance was promoted to the Governor's post due to his clean image and quiet demeanour.
In a telephonic conversation with ETV Bharat, Shiv Pratap Shukla said, "I have always fulfilled my duties with utmost sincerity. Whatever responsibility was assigned to me by BJP, I did. I gave my best in any work. Now that I have been bestowed with a constitutional obligation, I will not shy away from it. Not me but my actions will speak on my behalf."
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Shukla has been associated with the BJP for a long time now. He is considered a key leader of the party. He joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad while still a student. In the assembly elections in 1989, he managed to win the election as a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party from the Gorakhpur Sadar assembly seat in his maiden election.
The newly appointed Governor is a known face in the North. He has been a minister under Kalyan Singh, Rajnath Singh and Ram Prakash Gupta-led governments in Uttar Pradesh. He has, in the past, handled important portfolios as Minister for Law and Justice, Minister for Rural Development and others. However, in the 2002 assembly elections, he had to face defeat from the Gorakhpur assembly seat, due to internal strife within the BJP. Later, he was appointed as the Union Minister of State for Finance in the Modi Government at the Centre.
