Blitz Bureau
IN a significant reshuffle, President Droupadi Murmu on December 24 appointed two new Governors and reassigned three others.
While former Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla has been appointed as the Governor of Manipur, General (Dr.) Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd.) has been designated as the new Governor of Mizoram. Gen Singh, a former Army Chief, was minister in the previous Narendra Modi-led government. He represented the Ghaziabad constituency for two terms since 2014.
Arif Mohammed Khan, the Governor of Kerala, has been assigned the position of Governor of Bihar. Notably, the Bihar Assembly elections are scheduled to take place next year. Khan’s tenure as Kerala Governor was marked by frequent confrontations with the state Government led by the CPI(M).
Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, currently serving as the Governor of Bihar, will now assume the role of Governor of Kerala. A BJP leader from Goa, Arlekar has held prominent positions, including Cabinet Minister and Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly. With a strong RSS background, he was a contemporary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the organisation and joined the BJP during the same period as PM Modi.
Hari Babu Kambhampati, who currently holds the position of Governor of Mizoram, has been appointed as the Governor of Odisha. A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique stated that the appointments would take effect from the dates the appointees assume charge of their respective offices. It also mentioned that the resignation of Odisha’s outgoing Governor, Raghubar Das, has been accepted by the President.
