Amaravati, July 24: Veteran BJP Leader Biswa Bhusan Harichandan took oath as the new Governor of Andhra Pradesh today morning. Harichandan is the second Governor and the first one to be appointed exclusively for the state after the bifurcation in June 2014.
Acting Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court Justice C Praveen Kumar administered the oath of office to the Governor at a function at the temporary Raj Bhavan in Vijayawada. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, his Cabinet colleagues, legislators, Chief Secretary L V Subrahmanyam and senior bureaucrats attended the swearing-in ceremony. The premises that was previously used as the Chief Minister's Camp Office has been converted into the Raj Bhavan for the new Governor.
Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, a Jana Sangh leader, hails from a family of freedom fighters in Odisha. He was the BJP state president in Odisha. He had also served as Law Minister in the state. Venturing into politics in 1971, the 85-year-old Harichand has been elected to Odisha Assembly five times from Chilika and Bhubaneshwar constituencies.
He became the National Executive Member of the Bharatiya Jana Snagh in 1971 and its State General Secretory till the formation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1977. He had been the President of BJP-Odisha from 1980 to 1988. Harichandan also served in the BJP national executive. During Emergency, he was arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in 1975 as he fought against suppression of judges in the Supreme Court.
Biswa Bhushan Harichandan is a prolific writer whose articles on various issues have been published in newspapers in Odisha. He has published books like Marubatash (six one-act plays), Mahasangramar Mahanayak, Buxi Jagabandhu, Paika Mutiny and his autobiography Sangar Sarinahin.