Ex-Minister Was Walking With Grandson, Then A Call That He Is New Governor

Former Madhya Pradesh minister Dhal Singh Bisen was taking a stroll with his grandson at his home in Seoni town on Monday night when a phone call from Bhopal brought the news of his appointment as Uttarakhand Governor, turning the house into a scene of celebration as relatives and supporters gathered to congratulate him.

Bisen (74), a former Lok Sabha MP as well as multiple-term MLA, was among 6 new Governors appointed by President Droupadi Murmu on Monday.

He will succeed Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (retd) at Lok Bhavan in the hill state.

Born on May 14, 1952, in Pipariya village of Seoni district in Madhya Pradesh, Bisen is an Ayurvedic doctor and farmer.

He began his political career as an elected panch in his village and later became active in local politics.

He won the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections in 1990, 1993, 1998 and 2003 on a BJP ticket from Barghat in Seoni district.

After the Barghat seat was reserved for Scheduled Tribes, the BJP fielded him from Keolari, where he lost the 2008 and 2013 elections.

Bisen served as a cabinet minister in Madhya Pradesh from 2003 to 2005, holding forest, transport and minerals portfolios. He later handled school education and prisons department. From 2011 to 2013, he chaired the state's fourth State Finance Commission.

In 2019, the BJP fielded Bisen from the Balaghat Lok Sabha constituency, which he won.

He served as a member of the 17th Lok Sabha until 2024 and is currently a member of the BJP's state working committee.

According to PRS Legislative Research data cited in the supplied report, Bisen recorded 99 per cent attendance in the Lok Sabha.

He participated in 73 debates and asked 189 questions during his parliamentary tenure, focusing on agriculture, rural development, railways, irrigation and tribal welfare. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)