Jishnu Dev Varma (born 15 August 1957), is an Indian politician serving as the 3rd and current Governor of Telangana since 31 July 2024.[1][3] He is from Tripura, and has previously served as the 2nd Deputy Chief Minister of Tripura from 2018 to 2023. He served as the MLA of Charilam from 2018 till 2023. He was the head of the Badminton Association of India, and is currently the president of its Tripura unit.[3][4]

Jishnu Dev Varma
Dev Varma in 2024
3rd Governor of Telangana
Assumed office
31 July 2024[1]
Chief MinisterAnumula Revanth Reddy
Preceded byC. P. Radhakrishnan (additional charge)
2nd Deputy Chief Minister of Tripura
In office
9 March 2018 – 2 March 2023
Chief MinisterBiplab Kumar Deb
Manik Saha
PortfoliosFinance, Power, Rural Development (including Panchayat), Planning and Coordination (including Statistics), TREDA, Science, Technology & Environment[2]
Preceded byDasarath Deb (1988)
ConstituencyCharilam
President, Badminton Association of Tripura
Personal details
Born
Jishnu Dev Varma

(1957-08-15) 15 August 1957 (age 67)
Tripura, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
SpouseSudha Debbarma
Relations
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Calcutta (B.A. Hons. English Literature)

Early life and education

edit

Jishnu Dev Varma was born in Agartala, Tripura on 15 August 1957. His father Ramendra Kishore Debbarma was the military secretary and home secretary to Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya.

Dev Varma is a member of the Tripura royal family and is the uncle of Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma and Kriti Devi Debbarman.[5][3]

He received his B.A. Honours from Calcutta University.[6]

Politics

edit

Dev Varma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in early 1990s during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.[7] In 1993, he was made a national general general secretary of the party.

 
Jishnu Dev Varma with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

In the 2018 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, he won the seat of Charilam with a margin of over 25,000 votes. He received 89% of the 29,753 valid votes polled in the bypoll. He defeated Arjun Debbarma of the Congress.[6] He was also chosen to be the Deputy Chief Minister of Tripura. During this term, he held the portfolios of Power, Rural Development (including Panchayat), Finance, Planning and Coordination, Science, Technology & Environment.[3]

He was chosen as the Chairman of North East Regional Power Committee (NERPC) on 22 September 2022.[8]

In the 2023 Tripura Legislative Assembly election, he was the richest candidate from Tripura.[9] He lost to his rival Subodh Deb Barma, who represented the Tipra Motha Party.[10]

Jishnu Dev Varma was appointed as Governor of Telangana by President Droupadi Murmu on 27 July 2024, and started serving the post since 31 July 2024.[3][11][1]

Personal life

edit

Jishnu Dev Varma married Sudha Debbarma. have two sons, namely Pratik Kishore Dev Varma and Jaibant Dev Varma. He has one 3 sisters.[12] Dev Varma cousin brother is Bharat Dev Varma who is the husband of actress Moon Moon Sen and father of Raima Sen Dev Varma and Riya Sen Dev Varma.[13]

Cultural and political image

edit

Dev Varma royal upbringing and connection to the Tripura Royal family is one of the prominent highlight of his public life. Being referred to as ‘Karta’ meaning prince throughout his life among the people signify his recognition as a member of the royal family.[14]

He is known to be quite active in the cultural sphere; that includes from writings, archiving, and also as patron of arts. His collection of photographs were featured in the Marg Magazine special issue: The Risha, History in a Narrow Weave authored by designer Artrik Dev Varman. [15]

Bibliography

edit

Books

edit
  • Dev Varma, Jishnu (2024), The Children of Water Goddess, Bhabani Books
  • Dev Varma, Jishnu (2024), Views, Reviews, and My Poems, Bhabani Books[16]

Articles

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Jishnu Dev Varma takes oath as Governor of Telangana". Deccan Chronicle. 31 July 2024. Archived from the original on 31 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Tripura Government 2018: Full List of Ministers With Portfolio in Biplab Kumar Deb Cabinet". 9 March 2018. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e Reddy, R. Ravikanth (28 July 2024). "Who is Jishnu Dev Varma, the new Governor of Telangana?". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Affiliated Organisations". Badminton Association of India. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  5. ^ Kalita, Prabin (7 March 2018). "Tripura royal family scion to be deputy chief minister". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Tripura Election 2023: 5 Points On Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma". NDTV. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  7. ^ "The blemish in BJP's Tripura win: Deputy CM Jishnu Dev Varma pays for misjudging TIPRA Motha". The Indian Express. 3 March 2023. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Deputy CM Jishnu Dev varma takes charge as Chairman of NERPC - Tripura Chronicle". 26 September 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Dy CM Jishnu Dev Varma is richest, Manik Saha is second and Sudip Roy Barman third richest MLA". Northeast Live. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Deputy CM Jishnu Deb Varma's loss setback to victorious BJP in Tripura". The Hindu. 2 March 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  11. ^ India TV News (28 July 2024). "President appoints 6 new Governors including Om Prakash Mathur, Santosh Gangwar, reshuffles 3 others". Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  12. ^ Shreya (14 May 2022). "Who will replace Biplab Deb as new Tripura CM? Full list of probables". Oneindia. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Ex-Tripura DyCM Jishnu Dev Verma's elder brother Bharat Dev Varma passes away in Kolkata". India Today NE (in Hindi). 19 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Jishnu Dev Varma: The royal in BJP camp, a loyalist through its good times and bad". The Indian Express. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  15. ^ K.G, Pramod Kumar (24 May 2024). "Woven by peasants and princesses | Aratrik Dev Varman on Tripura's risha". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Former Tripura Deputy CM's new book "Views, Reviews, and My Poems" explores personal and cultural narratives". India Today NE. 28 July 2024. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
edit