Eight new governors appointed ahead of Cabinet reshuffling exercise

Signalling imminent reshuffle of the Narendra Modi Cabinet, Union Minister and Rajya Sabha Leader of House Thawarchand Gehlot was on Tuesday appointed Governor of Karnataka in place of Vajubhai Vala.

Gehlot (73) has been the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment and his resignation from the Cabinet and subsequent appointment as a Governor strengthened the buzz around the Cabinet reshuffle in the next couple of days.

Modi will be holding a crucial meeting of top BJP leaders on Tuesday evening, during which contours of the new Council of Ministers is likely to be discussed.

Read | PM Modi's Cabinet reshuffle soon; performance in polls, pandemic among major concerns

This would also mean that Modi and the BJP would be considering a new Leader of House for Rajya Sabha. Governor of Karnataka since 2014, Vala is 83 years old and his age appears to have gone against him.

Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel has been appointed as Madhya Pradesh Governor replacing Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, who was holding additional charge. Former Goa Speaker Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar will go to the Himachal Pradesh Raj Bhavan.

Bandaru Dattatraya, who is presently Governor of Himachal Pradesh, has been transferred to Haryana from where Satyadev Narayan Arya has been shifted to Tripura.

Tripura Governor Ramesh Bais has been transferred to Jharkhand, while former Kerala BJP chief P S Sreedharan Pillai has been transferred from Mizoram to Goa where Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari was holding additional charge.

Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati has been appointed as the Governor of Mizoram.

More to follow...