R. S. Gavai

R. S. Gavai Biography

R. S. Gavai was an Indian politician who served as Governor of Bihar from 2006 to 2008 and Governor of Kerala from 10 July 2008 to 25 August 2011. R. L. Bhatia and Gavai were swapped between Kerala and Bihar. He was fondly called Dadasaheb Gavai. He was Ambedkarite and Buddhist by religion. He was a recipient of the Kusta Mitra Award, and National Integration award for peace and harmony. During his tenure as state governor of Kerala in 2009, Gavai gave CBI permission to prosecute CPI (M) Kerala State Secretary and former Kerala Electricity Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the SNC-Lavalin case. While the ruling party made it a controversy, the opposition Congress party welcomed the move.

Ramkrishnan Suryabhan Gavai was born on 30 October 1929 in Daryapur, Amravati. He owned an agricultural background and was associated with Republican Party. He graduated from Nagpur University. Gavai was a noted author too, who published many books. During his college days, he was very much interested in sports. He was interested in wrestling, swimming and athletics, and was also associated with the Western India Football Association, Mumbai.

In his political journey, he remained an almost permanent figure in Maharashtra Legislative Council. He was a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from 1964 to 1994, for long three decades. During this tenure he served as Deputy Chairman from 1968 to 1978, followed by Chairman from 1978 to 1984. He remained Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council from 1986 to 1988. He got elected to Lok Sabha for the first time in 1998. After his active career in politics, he was appointed as Governor of Bihar in June 2006. Later this post was swapped with R. L. Bhatia who was serving as governor of Kerala. He passed away on 25 July 2015.

Published: September 03, 2018

Updated: September 03, 2018