New Delhi, Jul 20 (UNI) Lalji Tandon will take over as the 22nd Governor of Madhya Pradesh replacing Anandiben Patel, who will be 28th candidate for the gubernatorial post in Uttar Pradesh.
In a major reshuffle of Governors, the Narendra Modi Government made the transfers on Saturday.
Senior Supreme cxourt lawyer and former janata Dal MP Jagdeep Dhankhar has been appointed as Governor of West Bengal while Ramesh Bais has been appointed Governor of Tripura.
BJP MLA Phagu Chauhan has been appointed as Governor of Bihar while RN Ravi has been appointed as Governor of Nagaland.
Anandiben Patel, who replaces Ram Naik, was made the Governor of Madhya Pradesh in January last year. She replaced Om Prakash Kohli, who had additional charge of the office of MP Governor along with the office of Gujarat Governor.
Ms Patel is known as a ‘protege’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She had succeeded him as Gujarat Chief Minister after the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.
In 2016, she stepped down from the post of Chief Minister on the ground that she was completing 75 years so decided to step down in keeping with the party’s rule.
Lalji Tandon, who is at present the Governor of Bihar, won the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat in 2009, the same year the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced his retirement from active politics on account of poor health. He was known to be close to Late Vajpayee.
Born in Lucknow on April 12, 1935, Tandon began his political career in the 1970s. He served as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council for two terms.
Upon the BJP's ascension to power in UP, he also served as a minister on more than one occasion.
Mr Chauhan is the only MLA from Ghosi who won maximum number of times (six times). He represents the Ghosi Assembly constituency in Mau district of Uttar Pradesh.
In 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election, he contested as Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and defeated his close contestant Abbas Ansari from Bahujan Samaj Party with a margin of 7,003 votes.
New Naga;land Governor R N Ravi, a joint intelligence chief (JIC) with the Government of India, is the chief interlocutor for the Naga peace talks.
Mr Ravi has closely worked with National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval during the latter’s stint as Intelligence Bureau Director and is learnt to have his confidence. Mr Ravi was in charge of the northeast desk during his stint with IB.
Mr Bais, a former minister in the Vajpayee government, was elected for the first time to the 9th Lok Sabha from Raipur in Madhya Pradesh in 1989 on BJP seat ticket and was re-elected consecutively from 1996 to 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th,15th and 16th Lok Sabhas.
Jagdeep Dhankhar, a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, replaces Keshari Nath Tripathi. A former Congress man, joined the saffron party in 2003.
Mr Dhankhar is a former Lok Sabha MP from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan during 1989-91, and former Minister in Central Government from 1989 to 1991.
He was also former MLA from Kishangarh, Rajasthan, and former President of Rajasthan High Court Bar Association, Jaipur. He is also a member of ICC International Court of Arbitration.
UNI RSA AR 1615