Kalraj Mishra
Shri Kalraj Mishra was born on July 1, 1941, in Malikpur (Saidpur) village, Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh, into a middle-class farming family. After earning his Master’s degree in Arts from Mahatma Gandhi Vidyapeeth in Varanasi, he has been actively engaged in public life. He served as a Union Cabinet Minister and later as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh before taking the oath as the Hon’ble Governor of Rajasthan on September 9, 2019. He concluded his tenure as Governor on July 30, 2024.
Books
Executive and Legislative Responsibilities
From 2014 to 2017, Shri Mishra was the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Government of India. He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1978 and served three terms until 2012. Additionally, he was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council three times between 1986 and 2001, and to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 2012. In 2014, he won the Lok Sabha election from Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, and became a Union Minister. Previously, from 1997 to 2000, he held important portfolios, including Tourism, Public Works, and Medical Education, in the Uttar Pradesh government.
With experience in four legislative bodies, Shri Mishra has gained extensive legislative insight. He has been nominated to key roles, including Vice-Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and served as a member of the Standing Committee on Defence and Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Offices of Profit. He also chaired the Committee on Subordinate Legislation (Rajya Sabha) and the Legislative Harmony Committee in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.
Political Activities
Shri Mishra is a founding member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He served four terms as the party’s General Secretary and also held the position of State President of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. His public service began as a Pracharak for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and he later became the Organization Secretary of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh for Eastern Uttar Pradesh. During the Sampoorna Kranti movement in the 1970s, he coordinated efforts in Northern Uttar Pradesh and was imprisoned for 19 months during the Emergency. After the merger of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh with the Janata Party, he chaired the coordination committee for youth organizations across the party. He was also the first elected president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and played a key role in the movement for the creation of a separate Uttaranchal.
Travels
In March 1979, Shri Mishra traveled to Russia, North Korea, Japan, China, and Hong Kong as part of the Indian Goodwill Delegation. He participated in the 59th Session of the UN General Assembly in 2004 and served as the Chief Guest at the International Hindi Convention in Dallas, U.S.A. His international travels also include visits to Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, and the U.K.
Books
Shri Kalraj Mishra has authored numerous articles on socio-economic issues in both Hindi and English publications. He has published several books, including Entrepreneurship in India, Hindutva: A Way of Life, Judicial Accountability, Shiksha Ki Sanskriti, Constitution, Culture and Nation, Sanskriti Aur Rashtra, Appa Deepo Bhava, and Samvidhan, Bharat Mein Udyamita.
Achievements
During Shri Mishra’s tenure, Uttar Pradesh received its first award as the Best Performing State in Tourism from the Hon’ble Prime Minister. As the Minister of Public Works and Tourism, he implemented a road development policy that significantly improved road quality, initiated a road revolution, and launched a campaign for wide, pothole-free roads. He is also well-known for his ability to remember and identify party workers by name.