Kavinder Gupta

Kavinder Gupta (born 2 December 1959) is an Indian politician serving as 23rd Governor of Himachal Pradesh since 2026, He previously served as 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh from 2025 until his resignation in 2026. Previously, he served as the last Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state. Also he formerly served as the speaker of the Jammu & Kashmir Vidhan Sabha.

On 13 March 2026, Gupta resigned from the post of Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh after serving for just seven months in office.

Personal life Kavinder Gupta was born on 2 December 1959. He has three children – two daughters and one son.

Political career Gupta joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at the age of thirteen. He was jailed for thirteen months during The Emergency. Gupta served as the secretary of the Punjab unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad from 1978 to 1979. He also served as the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha from 1993 till 1998.

Gupta was elected mayor of the city of Jammu for a record three consecutive terms, from 2005 to 2010.

On 30 April 2018, Gupta was appointed the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state as a part of a cabinet reshuffle. He succeeded Nirmal Kumar Singh.

On 19 June 2018, Gupta resigned from the post of Deputy Chief Minister after 51 days of taking the oath as BJP pulled out from the alliance with PDP. Ram Madhav, then BJP National General Secretary, presided over the press conference in which the announcement to end the alliance was made. He criticised the CM Mehbooba Mufti-led government, saying it had "failed in its responsibility." He added that increase in violence, threat to fundamental rights and increase in radicalisation were the main factors behind the BJP's decision to quit the J&K coalition government.

He was appointed 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh on 14 July 2025 by Droupadi Murmu.

Controversies In February 2015, Gupta courted controversy by blaming the Rohingya Muslim refugees for the 2018 Sunjuwan attack on an army camp.