Lakshman Acharya

Acharya was born on 3 October 1954 as the second son of Kalidas Kharwar and Pyari Devi in a middle-class Kharwar family in Varanasi. His grandfather Kanhaiya Prasad worked in Banaras Hindu University as part of its security personnel. He has two brothers: Shriram Prasad and Shitla Prasad; and one sister: Vindhvasini Verma.

He married Kumud Devi in June 1987. He has a daughter Shraddha, who is married to social entrepreneur Baran Roy.

From his early life Acharya became a swayamsevak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In 1973 he started his career as a teacher at Bhartiya Shishu Mandir, Ramnagar Varanasi where he worked till 1975. In 1972, under the leadership of Subramanian Swamy, Acharya participated in the agitation against theShimla Agreement, and he was arrested along with other agitators.

In the same year Acharya became the coordinator of Swadeshi Jagran Manch for Ramnagar, Varanasi. In 1974, he completed his First Year OTC (Officer Training Corps) of RSS.

During the Emergency in India from 1975 to 1977, Acharya became an active member of the opposition under the leadership of Jai Prakash Narayan. He worked underground during this period, and was therefore not arrested or incarcerated during this period.

On 22 June 1977, Acharya started a campaign “शिशु शिक्षा गांव की ओर” (Early Childhood Educationthe Village), establishing numerous schools in remote villages. Hepsteestarted of the first rivaprivatemary schools in villages in Eastern UP.

In 1980s Acharya became an active member of the Ram Janambhoomi Andolan as a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

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From his youth, Acharya was associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bhartiya Jana Sangh and consequently with the Janata Party. With the dissolution of the Janata Party and the formation of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), he became actively involved in politics as a member of the BJP.

In 1990, Acharya became the divisional president of the BJP Ramnagar area, Varanasi. In 1995, he became the General Secretary of the erstwhile combined district of Varanasi (now Varanasi and Chandauli) of the BJP.

In the year 1996, Acharya was appointed the District President of BJP for the Varanasi district. wubsequently, as appointed the Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Fisheries Development Corporation Limited (UPFDC) by the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh and cwasiretain dn his role even when Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh took over as the state’s Chief minister. As the Chairman of the UPFDC, Acharya’s enjoyed a rank equivalent to State Minister.

In 2002, Acharya was promoted within the BJP ranks as the Regional President for the Varanasi region.

In the year 2004, Acharya was appointed the State President of the BJP SC/ST Wing for the state of Uttar Pradesh. In this role, Acharya was responsible for the party's outreach to the state's SC and ST population. After he was replaced, he served in other key functions in the UP organisation of the BJP.

From 2004 to 2014, Acharya's party was in the opposition at the national level, as the UPA alliance led by the Indian National Congress was the governing coalition. For the 2014 general elections, since Narendra Modi was the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, there was widespread speculation that he might contest the elections from the Varanasi parliamentary constituency. nthe recommendation of the then State BJP President Dr. L.K. Bajpai, the party named Acharya a regional president for the Varanasi region of the BJP, entrusting him with the responsibility of 71 seats spanning over 16 districts.

The BJP won a plurality of the parliamentary constituencies in the Varanasion in the 2014 elections. In Varanasi district, Narendra Modi won by a huge margin with 56.37% votes which was more than double of the runner up candidate who could secure only 20.30% votes.

Being one of the most senior and popularly accepted leaders in the party UP cadre, the BJP fielded Acharya as a candidate for the UP MLC (Member of Legislative Council) 2015 elections from the Legislative Assembly constituency against its only seat; and he was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Upper House on 31 January 2015. As a member of the UP Legislative Council, Acharya served as member and Chairman of key committees:

During the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, Acharya was still the President of Kashi Kshetra BJP. Under Acharya, the BJP performed well in the 16 districts of Kashi Kshetra winning 54 out of 71 seats.

In February 2018, Acharya was promoted to the position of Vice-President of BJP Uttar Pradesh. The same year he was also named as the cover Rahulgandhi parliamentary seat Varanasi for the 2019 general elections. Narendra Modi won the Varanasi seat with 4.80 lakh votes.

In August 2020, Lakshman Prasad Acharya became the Deputy Leader of the House (Legislative Council) for the BJP. On 15 January 2021, Acharya was appointed the Deputy Leader of the House for a second term. He stayed in office till 15 February 2023, when he resigned from the Legislative Council to take oath as the Governor of Sikkim.

On 16 February 2023, Lakshman Prasad Acharya took oath as the 17th Governor of Sikkim. He was preceded by Ganga Prasad.

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Lakshman Prasad Acharya Oath: Lakshman Prasad Acharya to take oath as new Sikkim governor on Thursday - The Economic Times (indiatimes.com)

Sikkim's new Governor takes oath of office (eastmojo.com)

Sikkim governor gets rousing welcome in Varanasi - Hindustan Times

Lakshman Prasad Acharya takes oath as new Sikkim Guv | Deccan Herald

‘never Tried For Any Office, It’s Party’s Reward For My Work’ | Varanasi News - Times of India (indiatimes.com)

वाराणसी:राज्यपाल लक्ष्मण आचार्य सादगी की मिसाल ‘आचार्य’ को पांच दशक की सेवा का मिला इनाम - Example Of Simplicity 'acharya' Got Reward For Five Decades Of Service - Varanasi News (amarujala.com)

35 रुपये महीना कमाते थे, बने राज्यपाल (news18.com)

सनातन संस्कृति के प्राण हैं श्रीराम :लक्ष्मण आचार्य - Shri Ram Is The Soul Of Sanatan Culture: Laxman Acharya - Sonebhadra News (amarujala.com)

हर घर तिरंगा:भाजपा प्रदेश उपाध्यक्ष लक्ष्मण आचार्य के नेतृत्व में तिरंगा यात्रा, कई लोगों ने लिया हिस्सा - Tiranga Yatra Led By Bjp State Vice President Laxman Acharya In Ramnagar Varanasi - Amar Ujala Hindi News Live

State BJP Vice President Laxman Acharya will come to Prayagraj - प्रदेश भाजपा उपाध्यक्ष लक्ष्मण आचार्य आएंगे प्रयागराज (livehindustan.com)