Rajendra Arlekar

Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar (born 23 April 1954) is an Indian politician who is currently the 23rd Governor of Kerala.^[2] Previously, he was the 29th Governor of Bihar^[3] and the 21st Governor of Himachal Pradesh, being the first Governor of Himachal Pradesh from Goa. He was also a Cabinet Minister in the Government of Goa and a former speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly. He is a leader of BJP.

Rajendra Arlekar
Arlekar, c. 2025
23rd Governor of Kerala
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 January 2025 (2025-01-02)
Chief Minister	Pinarayi Vijayan
Preceded by	Arif Mohammed Khan
29th Governor of Bihar
In office 16 February 2023 – 1 January 2025
Preceded by	Phagu Chauhan
Succeeded by	Arif Mohammad Khan
21st Governor of Himachal Pradesh
In office 13 July 2021 – 16 February 2023
Preceded by	Bandaru Dattatreya
Succeeded by	Shiv Pratap Shukla
Cabinet Minister of Forest, Environment and Panchayat Government of Goa
In office 1 October 2015 – 2017 [1]
Member of Goa Legislative Assembly
In office 2012–2017
Preceded by	Dayanand Sopte
Succeeded by	Manohar Ajgaonkar
Constituency	Pernem
In office 2002–2007
Preceded by	Jose Philip D'Souza
Succeeded by	Jose Philip D'Souza
Constituency	Vasco
Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly
In office 2012–2015
Preceded by	Pratapsingh Rane
Succeeded by	Anant Shet
Personal details
Born	(1954-04-23) 23 April 1954 (age 71) Panaji, Goa, Portuguese India (present-day Goa, India)
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse	Anagha Arlekar
Children	2
Residence	Raj Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram
Profession	Politician
Website	www.rajendraarlekar.in

Early life

Arlekar was born on 23 April 1954 at Panaji, Goa, to Vishwanath Arlekar and Tilomattama. He did his schooling at St. Joseph’s Institute, Vasco Da Gama, and completed his degree in commerce from MES College, Vasco Da Gama.^[4]

Arlekar is married to Anagha Arlekar and has two children.^[5]

Political career

Arlekar has been associated with the RSS since his childhood. He joined the BJP in 1989. He has been an active member of the Goa BJP since the 1980s. He has held various positions which include the following: General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, Goa Pradesh. Chairman, Goa Industrial Development Corporation. Chairman, Goa State SC and OBC Financial Development Corporation. General Secretary, BJP, Goa. South Goa President, BJP.

When Manohar Parrikar was roped in as the Union Defence Minister in 2014, Arlekar was considered for the next Chief Minister but the Party chose Laxmikant Parsekar as the next Chief Minister instead.

He is credited with making Goa Legislative Assembly paperless, the first state assembly to do so.

In 2015, he was appointed the Minister for Environment and Forests during the reshuffling of the cabinet.

On 6 July 2021, he was appointed Himachal Pradesh's Governor when the incumbent Bandaru Dattatreya was made the governor of Haryana. Arlekar thanked the Party and stated that BJP is a Party where the work of each and every member is recognized. He was then appointed as the 29th Governor of Bihar and on 24 December 2024 he was appointed as the 23rd Governor of Kerala.^[6][7]