BJP's Vajpayee-era Dalit face from Jharkhand named Odisha governor. Who is Brajmohan Ram?

Brajmohan Ram, a former three-term Lok Sabha member from Palamu in Jharkhand, has been appointed as Odisha Governor.

This makes Ram the second person from Jharkhand, after former chief minister Raghubar Das, to be appointed to the gubernatorial post in the neighbouring state in the past three years.

Das had resigned after a term of over a year and returned to active politics in the state ahead of the 2024 Jharkhand Assembly elections.

Who is Brajmohan Ram?

Having served in the Lok Sabha thrice between 1996 and 2004, Brajmohan Ram was a prominent Dalit face from the state during the period when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, registered its political ascent on the national stage.

Before being elected as a member of Parliament from Palamu, a reserved constituency for Scheduled Castes, 68-year-old Ram served as a member of the Bihar legislative assembly from 1991-1995 from the Latehar assembly seat, also a reserved seat for the social group.

A native of Chandwa, a small block town in Latehar assembly seat in Palamu Division of Jharkhand, Ram has been in political oblivion since he lost the 2009 Lok Sabha election from Palamu as an independent.

A surprise appointment

While the appointment brought celebrations among the BJP workers, who have been taking to social media to congratulate Ram, it also left a section of party leaders 'surprised'.

"Nothing to take credit from him, but it's a bit surprising for us as well, as he has almost been out of active politics. He has hardly held any position, even in the party organisation, for over a decade now. He contested unsuccessfully as an independent in the 2009 Lok Sabha election after the seat went to ally JDU in seat-sharing. He returned to the party later on, but has largely been out of the limelight until today. He would always seek a party ticket at the time of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, but didn't succeed. He was lobbying for MLA ticket from Latehar even in 2024, but couldn't gain the confidence of the leadership," a senior BJP leader said.

Other appointments

On Monday, President Droupadi Murmu made fresh appointments of governors of six states – Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Odisha.

RV Arlekar has been named as the Governor of Tamil Nadu, while Prakash Mathur, who was the governor of Sikkim, has been appointed the Governor of Kerala after President Murmu made fresh appointments.

Other appointments include Braj Mohan Ram as Governor of Odisha, Dr Sudha Yadav as Governor of Karnataka, Dr Dhal Singh Bisen as Governor of Uttarakhand and Dushyant Gautam as Governor of Sikkim.

These appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.