Prince Abhiraj of Purvanchal

Styles of
**Prince Abhiraj**
Styles of; Prince Abhiraj
Reference style	His Serene Highness
Spoken style	Your Serene Highness
Alternative style	Sir

Names
	Abhiraj Kar

Prince Abhiraj of Purvanchal
Prince Abhiraj of Purvanchal
His Serene Highness, Senior Prince of Purvanchal
Regent of Purvanchal
Regency	1 August 2020 – 6 February 2021
Successor	Crown Princess Sarala
Prime Minister of Vishwamitra
	Acting
	In office; 21 August 2020 – 31 August 2020
Monarch	Varuna Sriraya
Preceded by	Princess Anoushkaa
Succeeded by	Princess Anoushkaa
Governor of Beltola
	In office; 17 March 2023 – 28 May 2023
Monarch	Varuna Sriraya
Rajpramukh	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Prime Minister	Farhaz Hazarika
Preceded by	Position re-created
Succeeded by	Princess Bishakha
	In office; 4 September 2019 – 29 September 2019
President	Varuna Sriraya
Prime Minister	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Preceded by	Reshmi Hazarika
Succeeded by	Bhargab Jyoti Medhi
President
Senior political and ministerial offices
Deputy Prime Minister of Vishwamitra
	In office; 17 February 2017 – 12 April 2017
President	Sarala Baishya
Prime Minister	Varuna Sriraya
Preceded by	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Succeeded by	Arnab Sil
	In office; 14 July 2019 – 1 September 2019
President	Varuna Sriraya
Prime Minister	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Preceded by	Bishnu Chetry
Succeeded by	Ankurjyoti Thakuria
	In office; 8 June 2020 – 28 January 2021
Monarchs	Tanishkaa Patranabish; Varuna Sriraya
Prime Minister	Princess Anoushkaa
Preceded by	Position re-created
Succeeded by	Liam Alexander
Senior Minister
	In office; 6 March 2021 – 11 September 2021
Monarch	Varuna Sriraya
Prime Minister	Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu
Preceded by	Position vacant
Succeeded by	Princess Anoushkaa
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission
	In office; 3 March 2020 – 10 May 2020
President	Varuna Sriraya; Tanishkaa Patranabish
Prime Minister	Anoushkaa Patranabish; Tanishkaa Patranabish; Position vacant
Preceded by	Ankurjyoti Thakuria
Minister of External Affairs
	In office; 12 April 2017 – 5 July 2017
Prime Minister	Sarala Baishya
Preceded by	Arnab Deka
Succeeded by	Arnab Sil
	In office; 12 October 2018 – 6 January 2019
President	Varuna Sriraya
Preceded by	Bishnu Chetry; as Secretary of State
Succeeded by	Arnab Sil
State Counsellor
	In office; 14 May 2018 – 12 October 2018
President	Tanishkaa Patranabish; Varuna Sriraya (protem)
Preceded by	Ministry created
Succeeded by	Bishnu Chetry; as Minister of Defence
Minister of Defence
	In office; 7 January 2019 – 17 March 2019
Prime Minister	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Preceded by	Bishnu Chetry
Succeeded by	Asmi Patranabis
	In office; 9 December 2020 – 3 March 2020; as Minister of National Defence
Prime Minister	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Preceded by	Asmi Patranabis
Succeeded by	Arnab Deka
	In office; 13 May 2020 – 8 June 2020
Preceded by	Position vacant
Succeeded by	Ministry abolished
Minister of Home Affairs
	In office; 9 June 2020 – 17 June 2020
Prime Minister	Princess Anoushkaa
Preceded by	Bishnu Chetry
Succeeded by	Nishwan Baidantic
Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs
	In office; 17 June 2020 – 21 August 2020
Prime Minister	Princess Anoushkaa
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Nishwan Baidantic
Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security
	In office; 21 August 2020 – 28 January 2021
Prime Minister	Princess Anoushkaa
Preceded by	Nishwan Baidantic
Succeeded by	Varuna Sriraya (caretaker)
Prime Minister
Other ministerial offices
Minister of State of Finance
	In office; 6 December 2015 – 11 April 2016
Prime Minister	Sarala Baishya
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Anirban Phatowali
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
	In office; 18 April 2008 – 31 December 2009
Prime Minister	Arnisha Phatowali
Preceded by	Varuna Sriraya
Succeeded by	Ministry abolished
	In office; 11 April 2016 – 10 July 2016
Prime Minister	Varuna Sriraya
Preceded by	Ministry re-created
Succeeded by	Mridul Amin, MoS (I/C)
	In office; 18 September 2016 – 12 April 2017; MoS (I/C) until 30 Dec 2016
Prime Minister	Varuna Sriraya
Preceded by	Mridul Amin
Succeeded by	Anirban Phatowali
	In office; 5 July 2017 – 8 September 2017
Prime Minister	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Preceded by	Anirban Phatowali
Succeeded by	Asmi Patranabis
	In office; 17 March 2019 – 16 July 2019
Prime Minister	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Preceded by	Position vacant
Succeeded by	Bhargab Jyoti Medhi
	In office; 17 August 2019 – 2 September 2019
Prime Minister	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Preceded by	Bhargab Jyoti Medhi
Succeeded by	Anirban Phatowali
	In office; 15 October 2019 – 16 November 2019
Prime Minister	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Preceded by	Anirban Phatowali
Succeeded by	Nishwan Baidantic
Minister of Regional Affairs and States
	In office; 8 September 2017 – 25 December 2017
Prime Minister	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Succeeded by	Asmi Patranabis
	In office; 21 March 2018 – 13 May 2018
Prime Minister	Varuna Sriraya
Preceded by	Anirban Phatowali
Succeeded by	Bhargab Jyoti Medhi
Minister of National Development
	In office; 8 November 2019 – 9 December 2019
Prime Minister	Tanishkaa Patranabish
Preceded by	Asmi Patranabis
Succeeded by	Anirban Phatowali
	In office; 6 March 2021 – 11 September 2021
Prime Minister	Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu
Preceded by	Position vacant
Succeeded by	Princess Anoushkaa
Minister of Federal Affairs and Administration
	In office; 11 June 2022 – 11 November 2022
Prime Minister	Farhaz Hazarika
Preceded by	Ministry created
Succeeded by	W. Pranit Singh
Born	c. 2006 (age 18)
Names
Names
	Abhiraj Kar
House	Sridasa (official); Kar (agnatic)
Father	Dato Utama Utpal Kar
Mother	Princess Sibani
Relatives	Princess Krishna (aunt); Varuna Sriraya (cousin); Princess Bishakha (cousin)

Prince Abhiraj (born 2006) is a senior Vishwamitran politician and a member of the House of Sridasa. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Vishwamitra on various occasions and also as the Acting Prime Minister between 20 August and 31 August 2020. He is a first cousin of the current Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya.

Personal life

Prince Abhiraj was born in 2006. He is a maternal first cousin to Varuna Sriraya and Princess Bishakha.

Political career

He became a Minister for the first time in 2008, having succeeded Varuna Sriraya as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and remained in office until the dissolution of the Arnisha Phatowali ministry on 31 December 2009. He served as a Member of Parliament between 2010 and 2015.

He was appointed as a Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance on 6 December 2015 under the premiership of Sarala Baishya and remained in office until the dissolution of the ministry on 11 April 2016.

Acting Prime Minister and subsequent career

Prince Abhiraj was appointed as the Acting Prime Minister of Vishwamitra and Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security on 20 August 2020 following the leave of absence of then Prime Minister Princess Anoushkaa and remained in office until her return on 30 August. During his tenure as Acting Prime Minister, he was responsible to carry out the functions of the Prime Minister including the reading of the order of appointment of the Rashtradhyaksh and delivering the speech on behalf of the people during the installation ceremony of the Rashtradhyaksh on 23 August 2020.

Following the return of Prime Minister Princess Anoushkaa from her short leave, he resumed the duties of the Deputy Prime Minister and continued to serve as the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security until the dissolution of the council of ministers on 28 January 2021. He was also entrusted the additional duties of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations between 1 and 3 October 2020 following the resignation of serving Minister Nishwan Baidantic and was replaced by Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu.

He contested the general election held in March 2021 from the Bhetapara and Basant Bihar parliamentary constituencies of the state of Beltola and was unopposed elected to the Parliament. He later tendered his resignation from the Bhetapara constituency and retained the Basant Bihar constituency. He was inducted to the union council of ministers by Prime Minister Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu as the Senior Minister and the Minister of National Development on 6 March 2021. On 1 August 2021, he was bestowed with the Order of the Vishwamitra in the grade of Knight Grand Cordon, the highest grade of the order reserved for former Prime Ministers and was conferred for his brief services as the nation's Prime Minister.

Positions held

Positions held	From	To
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs	18 April 2008	31 December 2009
Minister of State for Finance	6 December 2015	11 April 2016
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs	11 April 2016	10 July 2016
Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the President's Office	10 July 2016	18 September 2016
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social and Child Welfare	10 July 2016	2 October 2016
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Parliamentary Affairs	18 September 2016	30 December 2016
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Group Members Development	2 October 2016	30 December 2016
Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Prime Minister's Office	13 November 2016	30 December 2016
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Minister of Group Members Development	30 December 2016	12 April 2017
Deputy Prime Minister	17 February 2017	12 April 2017
Minister of External Affairs Minister of Corporate Affairs Minister of Social Justice	12 April 2017	5 July 2017
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Minister of All Party Affairs	5 July 2017	8 September 2017
Minister of Regional Affairs	8 September 2017	25 December 2017
Minister of Culture Minister of Regional Affairs and States	21 March 2018	13 May 2018
State Counsellor	14 May 2018	3 August 2018
State Counsellor	7 August 2018	12 October 2018
Minister of External Affairs	12 October 2018	7 January 2019
Minister of Defence Minister of Internal Security	7 January 2019	17 March 2019
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs	17 March 2019	16 July 2019
Minister of Cooperation and Regional Development	16 July 2019	2 September 2019
Minister of Law and Justice	30 March 2019	16 July 2019
Deputy Prime Minister	14 July 2019	1 September 2019
Minister of Public Administration	16 July 2019	17 August 2019
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs	17 August 2019	2 September 2019
Governor of Beltola	4 September 2019	29 September 2019
Minister of Cooperation and Regional Development	29 September 2019	15 October 2019
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs	29 September 2019	8 November 2019
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs	15 October 2019	16 November 2019
Minister of National Development	8 November 2019	9 December 2019
Minister of Commonwealth Affairs	16 November 2019	24 November 2019
Minister of Capital Region Development	20 November 2019	3 March 2020
Minister of National Defence	9 December 2019	3 March 2020
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission (with rank of Cabinet Minister)	3 March 2020	10 May 2020
Minister of National Defence	13 May 2020	7 June 2020
Deputy Prime Minister	8 June 2020	28 January 2021
Minister of Home Affairs Department of Vigilance, Elections and General Administration	8 June 2020	17 June 2020
Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs	17 June 2020	20 August 2020
Regent of Purvanchal	1 August 2020	6 February 2021
Prime Minister (Acting)	20 August 2020	31 August 2020
Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security	20 August 2020	28 January 2021
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations	1 October 2020	3 October 2020
Senior Minister Minister of National Development	6 March 2021	9 September 2021
Senior Minister	12 May 2022	11 November 2022
Minister of Local Administration Minister of Interstate Cooperation	12 May 2022	11 June 2022
Minister of Federal Affairs and Administration	11 June 2022	11 November 2022
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources	1 July 2022	11 November 2022
Governor of Beltola	17 March 2023	28 May 2023
Minister of Local Government and General Administration	29 March 2024	Incumbent

Titles, styles, and honours

Titles and styles

8 June 2020 - 4 January 2021: His Royal Highness Abhiraj, the Senior Prince of Purvanchal
4 January – 1 August 2021: His Serene Highness Abhiraj, the Senior Prince of Purvanchal
1 August 2021 – present: His Serene Highness Abhiraj, the Prince Varistharajakumar, the Senior Prince of Purvanchal

Honours

See also: List of honours of the Purvanchal royal family by country

National honours

Grand Commander of the Order of Sri Maha Vishwamitra (GSV, 27 April 2024)
Recipient 1st Class of the Distinguished and Long Service Medal (15 April 2022)
Recipient of the National Service Medal (15 April 2021)
Recipient of the Royal Service Medal (15 April 2022)
Recipient of the Civil Service Medal (15 April 2022)
Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the 20th Birthday of the First Prime Minister (11 November 2020)
Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the First Anniversary of the Vishwamitran Monarchy (8 June 2021)
Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the Crystal Jubilee of the Foundation of Vishwamitra (15 April 2022)
Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the 21st Birthday of Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya (11 January 2023)

Dynastic honours

House of Sriraya:
- Grand Companion of the Order of the Royal House of Sriraya (4 July 2021)
- Grand Knight of the Royal Family Order of Purvanchal (27 January 2021)
- Grand Commander of the Royal Family Order of Purvanchal (7 September 2020)
House of Patranabish:
- Member 2nd Class of the Royal Family Order of Beltola (12 July 2021)

Foreign honours

Creek and Lake:
- Honorary Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Creek (KCRC, 1 June 2024)
Queensland:
- Honorary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the Cassia Fistula (15 September 2023)
- Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation (1 June 2022)