Five states get new governors

President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday appointed new governors to Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Meghalaya, besides installing a new head for Andaman &Nicobar Islands.

Banwarilal Purohit, the current Assam Governor, has been shifted to Chennai, relieving Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao from his additional charge of being Tamil Nadu Governor.

With Purohit’s appointment, Tamil Nadu is getting a new permanent governor.Purohit will be taking charge at a time when Tamil Nadu’s politics is in flux after division in the AIADMK following the death of its chief minister Jayalalithaa in December.

Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Jagdish Mukhi has been made Governor of Assam, seen as a promotion, while Brigadier (Retd) B D Mishra takes charge of Arunachal Pradesh.

Ganga Prasad becomes Governor of another North-east state Meghalaya, which goes to polls in early 2018. Bihar Governor’s position, which Kovind left vacant while becoming President, is being filled with Satyapal Malik.

Following Mukhi’s transfer to Assam, former Navy chief Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi has been given charge as Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

A statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan said the appointments will come into effect from the date the incumbents assume charge of the new posts. The new Bihar Governor Satyapal Malik is a former Member of Parliament and BJP national Vice President. A former Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism, he was also a two-time member of Rajya Sabha and chair and member of many committees. Malik is a BSc and LLB from Meerut University, an agriculturist and social worker.

Jagdish Mukhi, the man appointed to Assam’s highest Constitutional position, cut his teeth in BJP politics in Delhi during the Emergency. He won the capital’s Janakpuri constituency seven times starting from 1980. Ganga Prasad began his political career in 1994, the year he was elected to Bihar’s Legislative Council.