Ramesh Bais

Ramesh Bais (born 2 August 1947) is an Indian politician and is the 23rd governor of Maharashtra since 2023. He also served as the governor of Jharkhand from 2021 to 2023 and the governor of Tripura from 2019 to 2021. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has served as union minister of state (Independent Charge) for environment and forests in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Bais has been elected seven times to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, representing the Raipur constituency, including serving as a member of the 9th Lok Sabha (1989) and 11th to 16th Lok Sabha (1996–2019).

Personal life
Bais was born on 2 August 1947 in Raipur, Central Provinces and Berar, British India (now in Chhattisgarh, India) to Khomlal Bais. He completed his Higher Secondary education from B.S.E., Bhopal. He married Rambai Bais on 1 May 1968. They have a son and two daughters. Bais is an agriculturist by profession.

Political career
Bais was first elected to Municipal Corporation of Raipur in 1978. He won 1980 MP Assembly election from Mandir Hasod Constituency but lost 1985 Assembly election to his Congress rival Satyanarayan Sharma. He was elected for the first time to the Indian parliament as a member of the 9th Lok Sabha from Raipur in 1989 and was re-elected consecutively from 1996 to 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th Lok Sabha.

Positions held

 * Sources

State level

 * 1978: Councillor, Municipal Corporation, Raipur
 * 1980-85: Member, Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
 * 1980-82: Member, Estimates Committee, Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
 * 1982-85 : Member, Library Committee, Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
 * 1982-88 : Pradesh Mantri, Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P.), Madhya Pradesh

National level

 * 1989 : Elected to 9th Lok Sabha
 * 1989-90 & 1994–96 : Vice-President, B.J.P., Madhya Pradesh
 * 1990-97 : Member, Public Accounts Committee Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Steel and Mines
 * 1993 onwards : Member, National Executive, B.J.P.
 * 1994 onwards : Member, Executive Committee, B.J.P., Madhya Pradesh
 * 1996 : Elected to 11th Lok Sabha (2nd term)
 * Member, Committee on Agriculture
 * Member, Committee on Petitions
 * Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Industry
 * 1998 : Elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term)

Union Minister
Served as Union Minister of State in Second and Third Vajpayee ministry holding various portfolios such as Steel, Mines, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Information and Broadcasting, and also Minister of State (Independent charge) for Mines and Environment & Forests.
 * 1998-99 : Union Minister of State, Steel and Mines
 * 1999 : Elected to 13th Lok Sabha (4th term)
 * 13 October 1999 - 30 September 2000: Union Minister of State, Chemicals and Fertilizers
 * 30 September 2000 - 29 January 2003: Union Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting
 * 29 January 2003 - 8 January 2004: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Mines
 * 9 January 2004 - May 2004 : Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Environment & Forests
 * 2004 : Elected to 14th Lok Sabha (5th term)
 * Member, Committee on Petroleum & Natural Gas
 * Member, Committee on Public Accounts
 * Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Power
 * Member, Hindi Salahakar Samiti, Ministry of Coal and Mines
 * 5 August 2007 onwards : Member, Committee on Petroleum & Natural Gas
 * 1 May 2008 : Member, Committee on Public Undertakings
 * 2009 : Elected to 15th Lok Sabha (6th term)
 * 2009-2014 : Chief whip in Lok Sabha (BJP)
 * 6 August 2009 : Member, Committee on Public Undertakings
 * 31 August 2009 : Member, Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas
 * 23 September 2009 : Member, Rules Committee
 * 1 May 2010 : Member, Committee on Public Undertakings
 * 2014 : Elected to 16th Lok Sabha (7th term)
 * Sep. 2014 - May 2019 : Appointed Chairman, Standing Committee on Social Justice & Empowerment

Governor

 * July, 2019 – July 2021 : Appointed 18th Governor of Tripura
 * 14 July 2021 – 12 February 2023 : Appointed 10th Governor of Jharkhand
 * 12 February : Appointed the 23rd Governor of Maharashtra by the President of India in February 2023 following the resignation of the preceding governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Tenure as governor
As the 10th Governor of Jharkhand, Bais had several noticeable tensions with the state government led by Hemant Soren during his tenure. One of the most prominent issues was his failure to disclose the Election Commission's recommendation on Soren's continuation as MLA over a mining case. Bais also criticised the work culture in Jharkhand and flagged law and order as a significant problem. He returned several bills to the state government citing various loopholes, including bills passed by the government under the leadership of Hemant Soren, and the formation of the Tribal Advisory Council. Bais claimed he works according to the Constitution for the betterment of the state and stated that his successor would decide the fate of pending Bills and unfinished issues.