former Congress Minister Arif Md Khan is new Kerala governor
NEW DELHI : Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, chief of BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit, and former minister Bandaru Dattatreya were among the five new governors announced by President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday.
Arif Mohammed Khan is a notable appointment. He had quit the Rajiv Gandhi government over the Shah Bano case and has been cited many times by BJP in triple talaq debates. He has also supported the government on the Article 370 move. The appointments take effect from the dates the new governors take charge of their respective offices.
While Soundararajan has been appointed the Governor of Telangana, Dattatreya replaced Kalraj Mishra in Himachal Pradesh.Besides these, former Union minister Arif Mohammed Khan has been appointed the Governor of Kerala and Bhagat Singh Koshyari is the new Governor of Maharashtra. Mishra will now replace Kalyan Singh as Governor of Rajasthan.
The appointments take effect from the dates the new governors take charge of their respective offices. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has congratulated Mishra in a tweet and said,
As many as five new Governors on Sunday President Ram Nath Kovind announced a major reshuffle. The President transferred and appointed Kalraj Mishra, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, as the new Governor of Rajasthan.
He will replace Kalyan Singh as the Rajasthan Governor while his role in Himachal Pradesh has been taken over by former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya. The other three states to new Governors are Kerala, Telangana and Maharashtra. Here is the full list of states that have got new Governors.
Kalraj Mishra has been transferred from Himachal Pradesh to Rajasthan, where he replaces Kalyan Singh as the new Governor. Dattatreya replaces Mishra in Himachal Pradesh.Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been appointed the new Governor of Maharashtra shunting out Vidyasagar Rao. Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan has been made the new governor of Telangana replacing ESL Narasimhan.
The President transferred and appointed Kalraj Mishra, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, as the new Governor of Rajasthan. He will replace Kalyan Singh as the Rajasthan Governor while his role in Himachal Pradesh has been taken over by former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya. The other three states to new Governors are Kerala, Telangana and Maharashtra.
Kalraj Mishra has been transferred from Himachal Pradesh to Rajasthan, where he replaces Kalyan Singh as the new Governor.Bandaru Dattatreya replaces Mishra in Himachal Pradesh.Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been appointed the new Governor of Maharashtra shunting out Vidyasagar Rao.In Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan replaces P Sathasivam as the new Governor. Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan has been made the new governor of Telangana replacing ESL Narasimhan.
Koshyari replaces Vidyasagar Rao in Maharashtra while Arif Mohammed Khan will take over in Kerala from the Former Chief Justice of India Justice P Sathasivam, whose five-year term came to an end. Maharashtra ,a crucial state for the BJP, goes to polls later this year.
Tamilisai Soundararajan, 58. has been in charge of the BJP in a crucial southern state where it had practically zero presence, owing to the muscular Dravidian politics of the former Chief Ministers J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi. Their deaths have left a huge political vacuum where the BJP and new entrants like actor-politicians Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth are trying to carve out their niche.
In Telangana, the Governor’s post was under the dual charge of ESL Narasimhan, who was the Governor of Andhra Pradesh before its bifurcation. He recently demitted office. The 58-year-old is a physician-turned-politician who took the political plunge in 1999.