Kohima, March 12 (AHN) Veteran politician and former Bihar minister Nand Kishore Yadav will be sworn in as the 23rd Governor of Nagaland on Friday morning at a ceremony to be held at Raj Bhavan in Kohima.

Governor-designate Yadav arrived in Kohima on Thursday.

On his arrival, he was received by Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, along with his cabinet colleagues, Chief Secretary Sentiyanger Imchen, and other officials.

President Droupadi Murmu on March 5 announced the appointment and transfer of Governors and Lieutenant Governors across several states and Union Territories.

As part of the changes, former Bihar minister and Assembly Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav was appointed as the Governor of Nagaland.

Taking to social media platform X, Chief Minister Rio wrote: “On behalf of the people of Nagaland, I congratulate Shri Nand Kishore Yadav ji on his appointment as the Governor of Nagaland. I look forward to working together for the welfare and continued progress of the state.”

Greeting the new Governor, Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton, in a post on his X handle, said: “Congratulations to Shri Nand Kishore Yadav ji on being appointed as the Hon’ble Governor of Nagaland.”

“With decades of public service, I am sure he will guide the state with wisdom and dedication while further strengthening the path of peace, development and prosperity for the people. My best wishes for a productive and meaningful tenure ahead,” said the senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister.

Yadav will replace Ajay Kumar Bhalla, who has been discharging the gubernatorial charge of Nagaland in addition to Manipur since August 25 last year.

Manipur Governor Bhalla, a former Union Home Secretary, was given additional charge of Nagaland by President Murmu on August 16 last year, a day after the death of Nagaland Governor La. Ganesan on August 15 at a hospital in Chennai at the age of 80.

Seventy-three-year-old Nand Kishore Yadav joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1969 and became active in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1971.

He served as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bihar unit from 1998 to 2003 and held several key portfolios in the Bihar government.

In February 2024, he was elected as the 17th Speaker of the Bihar Assembly.

He is considered one of the senior leaders of the BJP in Bihar, and his appointment as the Governor of Nagaland is being viewed as recognition of his long political experience and contribution to public life.

Yadav has been elected seven times as an MLA from the Patna Sahib constituency, formerly known as the Patna Paschim Assembly seat, representing the BJP.