New Delhi: Former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satyapal Malik passed away on Tuesday. He has also served as the Governor of Meghalaya, Goa, Odisha and Bihar. He was 79 years old.

Malik entered politics in the mid-1960s inspired by the socialist ideology of Ram Manohar Lohia. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2004 and was appointed its national vice-president in 2012.

He was a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s team in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Belonging to the politically influential Jat community,

Malik hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat and also has ancestral roots in Haryana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death and said in a social media post: “Saddened by the passing away of Satyapal Malik Ji. My thoughts are with his family and supporters in this hour of grief. Om Shanti.”