india

Updated: Sep 01, 2019 23:46 IST

Five states got new governors on Sunday as President Ram Nath Kovind named the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Tamil Nadu chief Tamilsai Soundararajan, former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari and prominent Muslim face Arif Mohammed Khan among the new appointees.

Khan, who supported the Narendra Modi-led government’s move to ban instant triple talaq, was appointed the governor in Kerala, an official statement said. The 68-year-old had in 1986 walked out of the Cabinet in the Rajiv Gandhi government when it changed its stance and brought a bill to nullify the Supreme Court order in the Shah Bano case. He joined the BJP in 2004 but left the party three years later.

While Soundararajan was named the Telangana governor, Koshyari was appointed to the Maharashtra Raj Bhawan, the statement said.

Kalraj Mishra was transferred from Himachal Pradesh to be appointed the governor of Rajasthan, where he replaced Kalyan Singh. Former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya replaced Mishra in Himachal Pradesh.

Soundararajan, daughter of former Tamil Nadu Congress unit president Kumari Ananthan, replaced ESL Narasimhan. The 58-year-old is a physician-turned-politician who took the political plunge in 1999. She started with the BJP’s south Chennai wing and occupied various positions over the years. She was appointed the Tamil Nadu BJP chief in 2014.

“I chose the BJP despite growing up as daughter of a Congress leader... The biggest challenge in my life was to stay determined about my decision to join BJP and make a mark for myself without any hurdles,” she told reporters.

Mishra (78) had resigned from the central government in 2017 as minister for micro, small and medium enterprises after crossing the age of 75, which is the BJP’s unofficial age limit to hold elected posts. A senior leader of Uttar Pradesh BJP, he was the party’s state unit chief earlier.

Koshyari replaced Vidyasagar Rao in Maharashtra while Khan took over in Kerala from P Sathasivam, the former Chief Justice of India.

Announcing the names of the new governors, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said: “The above appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.”

Khan said his appointment was another opportunity to serve the country. “I will try to serve the people of the state. I have not received the letter yet and have been told by my friends. The role is to ensure that government functions in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The Governor on behalf of President is to oversee that everything is in letter and spirit with the provisions laid down in the Constitution,” he told ANI.

Dattatreya thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah after being appointed the governor of Himachal Pradesh. “They have given this responsibility to me as the governor of Himachal Pradesh and I will work as per the Constitution,” Dattatreya was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

(With inputs from agencies)