In a major reshuffle, the Centre on Tuesday announced eight new Governors, including Union minister Thaawarchand Gehlot. BJP leaders claimed that there is a record number of SC, ST and OBC Governors under the Narendra Modi regime. The Indian Express takes a look at the new incumbents at these Raj Bhavans: Karnataka Thaawarchand Gehlot held the portfolio of Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment. Considered the Dalit face of Narendra Modi’s Cabinet, he has twice been a Rajya Sabha member and had also represented Shajapur in the Lok Sabha. Goa P Sreedharan Pillai, the Mizoram Governor and former state president of BJP’s Kerala unit, has strong ties with Church leaders and representatives of Christian community, which constitute a crucial portion of the electorate in Goa. Pillai was instrumental in bringing in Church leaders from Kerala to recently meet PM Narendra Modi. Mizoram Former Visakhapatnam MP Hari Babu Kambhampati is a non-controversial BJP leader from Andhra Pradesh and the appointment hints at the party leadership’s move to accommodate people from key states. Jharkhand The appointment of Ramesh Bais, Tripura Governor and six-time MP from Raipur, is an elevation for him, said BJP sources. He was denied a ticket in 2019. Primarily an agriculturist, he was first elected to Parliament in 1989. He later served as Union minister. Himachal Pradesh Former Goa Speaker Rajendra Arlekar (66) is the third Goan and the first Goan politician to be appointed Governor of a state. Arlekar’s father Vishwanath Arlekar, popularly known as Dada Arlekar, was among the earliest RSS functionaries in the state and his home in Vasco doubled up as the Sangh’s office in the state before there was one. Madhya Pradesh Mangubhai Patel, a five-time former MLA from Gujarat, has held several organisational posts in the BJP. He launched his political career during the Emergency. Haryana Bandaru Dattatreya is a founding member of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh and was appointed as the Himachal Pradesh Governor after he was denied a seat to contest elections in 2019. Tripura Satyadev Arya is a former minister from Bihar who held the gubernatorial position in Haryana. He lost the Assembly election in 2015.
