Veteran BJP leader La. Ganesan now has to quit the party in which he was one of the pivotal forces - not because of dissent but because of elevation to what will become his political milestone. On Sunday, Ganesan, who was former Tamil Nadu BJP President, was appointed as the Governor of Northeastern state of Manipur. The elevation has drawn significance and become the third BJP state president to ascent to a national role and the other two being Ganesan's successors as state president - Tamilisai Soundarajan (Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry) and L Murugan - sitting Union Minister of State. 

Besides being a staunch RSS ideologue, La. Ganesan has built a rapport beyond the party lines and he was one of the leaders in the Tamil Nadu BJP who averted from getting into major controversies. During his political tenure, Ganesan has befriended his rivals and earned a token of respect from political giants including Karunanidhi. When the news of his appointment as the Governor of Manipur unanticipatedly came, several leaders of other parties had extended their hearty wishes to him for a remarkable elevation. Ganesan's road to the Raj Bhavan is clear when he is at his 76 with a vast political experience across and beyond Tamil Nadu. 

Born in Thanjavur on 16th February 1945, Ganesan had joined the BJP's root, RSS at a very young age and was involved in active politics. From an RSS cadre to state president to MP and to Governor, Ganesan's political career had a lot to say in its every vertical. He involved himself in RSS as a full-time Pracharak by quitting his government job. He was with the RSS from 1967-91 and with a deep-rooted tenure, Ganesan had joined the BJP in Tamil Nadu in 1991 as the general secretary (organization) in the state. He held this post for twelve years and in 2003, Ganesan was brought into the national role after he was appointed as the BJP National Vicepresident. 

He also had served as the BJP National Secretary during her term in national politics and later, he returned to his home state of Tamil Nadu after the party's leadership had appointed him as the Tamil Nadu BJP President. As an RSS ideologue, Ganesan was one of the inevitable faces who sowed and campaigned for RSS in Tamil Nadu and initially, he had held the post of zonal head of RSS in the districts like Madurai, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram, and Kanyakumari. He had risen to be instrumental in the party's development in Tamil Nadu. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi had served as the RSS in-charge in Gujarat, La. Ganesan was Modi's counterpart in Tamil Nadu. 

Ganesan had served in the BJP's executive council for three decades and after returning to Tamil Nadu as the state BJP President, he had contested in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from the South Chennai constituency. However, he finished fourth in the race by securing 42,925 votes while ADMK's Rajendran won this seat followed by DMK's RS Bharathy and DMDK's Gopinath. Despite the defeat, Ganesan has got the party's backing to enter the parliament as he was later elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house, from Madhya Pradesh and served in the upper house for 18 months, as a residual period after Najma Heptullah, who was appointed as the Governor of Manipur. 

La. Ganesan has also worked as a journalist and has been a veteran and popular face in the BJP. He has now become the second Tamil Nadu BJP President to be appointed as the Governor after Tamilisai Soundararajan. As per the constitutional norm, the Governor-designate should annul any political ties and membership and now, as the sequel of the elevation, Ganesan will be quitting the party to hold a constitutional office as the head of the state of Manipur. Interestingly, Ganesan succeeds Najma Heptullah twice - as a Rajya Sabha MP and as the Governor of Manipur after the latter's tenure has come to an end on August 10, 2021.

Sikkim's Governor Ganga Prasad was tasked as a caretaking Governor of Manipur and he will now hand over the baton to La. Ganesan, who is going to become the 17th Governor of Manipur. President Ram Nath Kovind had appointed Ganesan as the Governor on Sunday and it has been expected that he will soon be taking charge of the constitutional post. After the news of his elevation broke out, he has been flooded with wishes from across and beyond Tamil Nadu. Ganesan's to-be Tamil Nadu counterpart Banwarilal Purohit has congratulated the former and extended his best wishes for a glorious service to the people of Manipur. 

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has congratulated Ganesan over the phone and in an official press release, Stalin said Ganesan is a principled leader with a long experience and had the affection of Kalaignar M Karunanidhi. ADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam, TMC Chief GK Vasan, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister of State L Murugan, Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai, and several BJP leaders and cadres had extended their wishes to Ganesan in his new and historical political venture. Speaking to a news agency, Congress leader Thirunavukkarasar said that Ganesan's dedication has been rewarded finally. 

After being appointed as the Governor, La. Ganesan has said that his services are being recognized by the party. He said, "I feel very elated as my services are being recognized. I am prepared to work anywhere in India and the party has awarded me an opportunity to serve in Madhya Pradesh before and now in the Northeast." He added, "I am not alone. The party is with me and together, we will be successful in our duties."