Who Is Dinesh Sharma? 14th Lieutenant Governor Of Andaman And Nicobar Islands

Dinesh Sharma took oath on Tuesday as the 14th Lieutenant-Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at Lok Niwas in Sri Vijaya Puram, formerly Port Blair. Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge administered the oath of office and secrecy.

Chief Secretary Gyanesh Bharti read out the Warrant of Appointment during the ceremony. Senior bureaucrats, representatives of political parties and members of the business community attended the programme.

Sharma reached the islands from New Delhi on September 13 with his wife, Jai Lakshmi Sharma. A former professor of commerce at the University of Lucknow, he had earlier served as Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Mayor of Lucknow. In the Uttar Pradesh government, he handled higher and secondary education, science and technology, and electronics and information technology. The BJP leader was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in 2023.

Appointment And Succession

The Rashtrapati Bhavan announced Sharma's appointment on September 5. He succeeds Admiral D.K. Joshi (retd.), who served as Lieutenant-Governor from October 8, 2017. The ceremony did not include any formal policy address or project announcement and stayed limited to the reading of the Warrant of Appointment and the oath. It also reported that no new role or post-retirement position has been assigned to Joshi. The September 5 Rashtrapati Bhavan communique only announced Sharma's appointment to succeed him.

Earlier Controversies

In 2025, Sharma criticised BR Ambedkar and the Supreme Court and said: "According to the Constitution of India, no one can direct the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and the President has already given her assent to it. No one can challenge the President, as the President is supreme.". The BJP had already distanced itself from him when party president JP Nadda posted a statement on X about his remarks.

In 2018, the BJP had to respond after Sharma suggested that Sita was a "test-tube baby".

“All of us know that Lord Ram returned from Lanka in the Pushpak Vimaan. This proves aircraft existed then. It is said Sita was born in a ghada (pitcher) … Janak (Sita’s father) used a plough and a baby emerged from the pitcher … This technology was similar to that used in test-tube babies today,” he said. The remarks invited a rap on the knuckles from the BJP’s national leadership, which directed him to exercise restraint while making speeches.

Rise Within BJP

Sharma has long been associated with the RSS. He entered politics through the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the RSS's student wing, and also served as Lucknow Mahanagar president of the ABVP.

Sharma started out as a ward president in the party and later became state president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. In 1998, he was appointed vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. In 2004, he worked on Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Lucknow Lok Sabha campaign as convenor of the election office and a member of the election management committee.

A major step came in November 2006, when he was elected Mayor of Lucknow. He was re-elected in 2012 with a margin of 1.71 lakh votes.

The party elevated him further in 2014, appointing him national vice-president and later Gujarat in-charge. That year, he also led the BJP's post-election membership drive, helping it become the "world's largest political party", PTI reported. In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Ram Leela in Lucknow's Aishbagh on Sharma's invitation. The following year, while he was serving as mayor, the BJP made him Deputy Chief Minister in the first Yogi Adityanath Cabinet.

Resignation And Vacancy

Sharma resigned from his Rajya Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh on September 11, 2026, after his appointment as Lieutenant-Governor, PTI reported. Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan accepted the resignation the same day. As of September 15, 2026, the Uttar Pradesh seat had been declared vacant.

According to PTI, Sharma's resignation cleared the way for him to take charge in Sri Vijaya Puram as the islands' 14th Lieutenant-Governor.