Vinai Kumar Saxena, who served as the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) of Delhi since 2022, has been appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.
Before entering constitutional office, Saxena headed the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), where he implemented programs promoting rural employment and traditional industries.
During his tenure as Delhi LG, Saxena frequently clashed with the elected Aam Aadmi Party government over administrative powers and governance issues in the national capital.
As the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Saxena will now oversee governance in a strategically important Himalayan Union Territory bordering China and Pakistan.
His appointment follows the resignation of Ladakh's current LG, Kavinder Gupta, who had served less than a year in office since his appointment in July last year. Gupta has now been named the Governor of Himachal Pradesh. Earlier in the day, West Bengal Governor C.V. Bose resigned, with former Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi appointed as his successor.
Kavinder Gupta was the third LG of Ladakh, succeeding Brigadier B.D. Mishra, who had assumed the role in February 2024 after R.K. Mathur, Ladakh's first-ever L-G following the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. When sworn in, Gupta had pledged to work "unitedly for the development of Ladakh."
A veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Gupta hails from Jammu and has held several key political positions, including Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, three-term Mayor of Jammu, and Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
During his brief tenure as Ladakh's LG, the union territory witnessed significant youth-led protests and unrest over demands for statehood. Civil society groups across Ladakh have raised concerns regarding statehood, Sixth Schedule protections, and job reservations for locals.
