Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta Resigns After Eight Months in Office

Jammu, March 2026 : Kavinder Gupta on Thursday resigned from his position as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, bringing an abrupt end to his tenure just eight months after assuming office.

Gupta had taken oath as the third Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory on July 18, 2025. His appointment had followed the creation of Ladakh as a separate Union Territory in 2019 after the reorganisation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

His tenure coincided with a period of growing political and social unrest in the region. Civil society organisations, along with prominent regional groups such as the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, have been actively demanding constitutional safeguards and greater political autonomy for Ladakh.

These groups have been staging protests seeking full statehood for the region, inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India to protect tribal rights, and reservation in government jobs for local residents. The demands have gained momentum over the past year, with several public demonstrations organised across the region.

Reports also suggested that Gupta faced public discontent during a visit to a local monastery on Wednesday, where some residents reportedly expressed anger over the ongoing issues in the region.

Born in 1959, Gupta began his ideological and political journey at a young age, joining the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at the age of 13. During the period of the The Emergency in India, he was jailed for about thirteen months.

Over the years, he held several organisational roles within nationalist and political groups. Between 1978 and 1979, he served as secretary of the Punjab unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Later, he went on to lead the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha from 1993 to 1998.

Gupta’s rise in electoral politics came through municipal governance. He was elected Mayor of Jammu for a record three consecutive terms between 2005 and 2010.

In the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, he contested on a ticket from the Bharatiya Janata Party and won from the Gandhinagar constituency in Jammu, defeating the sitting Congress MLA Raman Bhalla.

On March 19, 2015, Gupta was elected Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, becoming the first BJP leader to hold that position. His tenure as Speaker marked a significant milestone for the party in the region’s legislative politics.

Later, on April 30, 2018, Gupta was appointed Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir following a cabinet reshuffle, replacing Nirmal Kumar Singh. However, his stint in the role was short-lived.

On June 19, 2018, he stepped down from the post after just 51 days when the BJP withdrew from its coalition government with the People’s Democratic Party led by then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Following years in active politics, Gupta was appointed the third Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh on July 14, 2025, and formally assumed office four days later.

His resignation now marks another significant development in Ladakh’s evolving political landscape at a time when the region continues to witness strong demands for greater autonomy and constitutional protections.