Anandiben Patel appointed new MP Governor
GANDHINAGAR : Former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel was on Friday appointed as the new Madhya Pradesh governor.
“The President of India is pleased to appoint Anandiben Patel to be the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, with effect from the date she assumes charge of her office,” the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a tweet.
Anandiben Patel had stepped down as Gujarat’s chief minister in August 2016 citing overage reasons. During the 2017 state assembly elections, she had refused to contest, and it was believed the BJP would assign her a larger role in politics.
Patel, 76, was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2014, when incumbent Narendra Modi became the prime minister, to August 2016, when she resigned from the post. Gujarat Governor O.P. Kohli was given the additional charge as Madhya Pradesh governor in September 2016, when the tenure of incumbent Ram Naresh Yadav ended.
Madhya Pradesh will see state assembly elections this year and Ms Patel might have been assigned the role by the saffron party high command, keeping the forthcoming polls in mind.
