New Delhi, July 20 (UNI) New Governors were appointed on Saturday for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Tripura and Nagaland, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique stated.
Anandiben Patel, the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat, was transferred from Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh.
Lalji Tandon, a protege of Bharatiya Janata Party's iconic statesman Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was moved to Madhya Pradesh from Bihar. Veteran MLA from Ghosi, UP, Fagu Chauhan, will replace Mr Lalji Tandon in Bihar.
Jagdeep Dhankar, a senior Supreme Court counsel and erstwhile MP from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, will take over the charge of West Bengal.
A member of the 16th Lok Sabha from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Mr Ramesh Bias will be the new Governor of Tripura.
Deputy National Security Advisor, R N Ravi, will take over the reins of Nagaland.
On Tuesday, Biswa Bhushan Harichandan, former Law Minister in the 2004 Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party dispensation, had been named Andhra Pradesh Governor. Mr ESL Narasimhan had been holding concurrent charge of both AP and Telangana.
Former Rajya Sabha member, Ms Anusuiya Uikey, had been appointed Chhattisgarh governor. Ms Anandiben Patel had been holding concurrent charge.
Top-level changes
Mr Lalji Tandon will be the 22nd Governor of Madhya Pradesh while Anandiben Patel the 28th occupant of the Raj Bhawan in Uttar Pradesh. Ms Patel had replaced Ram Naik as Governor of Madhya Pradesh in January last year. Mr Om Prakash Kohli had additional charge of the office of MP Governor along with the office of Gujarat Governor.
Ms Patel is reckoned 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.
Mr Lalji Tandon, who is at present the Governor of Bihar, won the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat in 2009, the same year Vajpayee stepped down from active politics on account of poor health. He was known to be close to Vajpayee.
Born in Lucknow on April 12, 1935, Mr 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, Mr Tandon also served as a minister on more than one occasion.
Mr Chauhan is the only MLA from Ghosi who won six terms. He represents the Ghosi Assembly constituency in Mau district of Uttar Pradesh.
In 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he contested as a BJP candidate and defeated Abbas Ansari of the Bahujan Samaj Party by a margin of 7,003 votes.
North east
New Nagaland Governor R N Ravi, a joint intelligence chief with the Government of India, was the principal interlocutor for the Naga peace talks.
Mr Ravi has closely worked with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval during his tenure 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 to the 9th Lok Sabha from Raipur in Madhya Pradesh in 1989 on a BJP ticket and subsequently in 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th,15th and 16th Houses.
Mr Jagdeep Dhankhar replaces Keshari Nath Tripathi. He joined the BJP in 2003, drifting away from the Indian National Congress.
From 1989 to 1991, he served as a Minister at the Centre.
Mr Dhankar is an erstwhile MLA from Kishangarh, Rajasthan, and former President of Rajasthan High Court Bar Association, Jaipur. He is also a member of International Chamber of Commerce arbitration wing.
UNI Team RP1742