PANAJI: Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju will be sworn in as the new Governor of Goa on July 26 at Raj Bhavan, Panaji. He will succeed PS Sreedharan Pillai, who has held the post since July 2021.
Raju’s appointment was officially announced by Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, with President Droupadi Murmu naming the former Union Civil Aviation Minister as Goa’s next Governor.
A senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and veteran politician from Andhra Pradesh, Raju’s elevation marks the first instance of an NDA ally being appointed to a gubernatorial post under the current dispensation. He hails from the royal family of Vizianagaram and has held key ministerial portfolios in the Andhra Pradesh government, including finance, excise, legislative affairs, and revenue.
At the national level, Raju served as Civil Aviation Minister from May 2014 to March 2018 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He resigned following the TDP’s exit from the NDA over the Centre’s refusal to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh.
Outgoing Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai, a practising lawyer and two-time Kerala BJP president, earlier served as Governor of Mizoram before assuming office in Goa.
