Senior actor and former Union minister U V Krishnam Raju is likely to be appointed as the new Governor of Tamil Nadu, according to reports from New Delhi.
A decision to this effect was taken by the Narendra Modi government. Orders are expected to be issued shortly. Krishnam Raju will be replacing Banwarilal Purohit, who took over as the Governor in October 2017.
It was indeed a big recognition for Krishnam Raju for his loyalty to the party. He was expecting to be given a prominent post in the Andhra Pradesh BJP, but the Governor post will certainly be a reward for him.
Krishnam Raju, who hails from Narasapuram in West Godavari district, had been associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party for a long time.
He had served as the Union minister of state in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government holding portfolios of external affairs, defence and food and consumer affairs.
Starting his political career in the Congress party in 1991 as a candidate from Narasapuram constituency, Krishnam Raju later joined the BJP and won the 1998 elections from Kakinada with a huge majority of 1,65,000 votes.
He became the member of advisory committee of the Information and Broadcasting ministry.
In the mid-term elections in 1999, he got re-elected from Kakinada and became the BJP parliamentary party whip in Lok Sabha. In 2001, he was taken into the Central cabinet.
