Retd Supreme Court Judge, 2 Army officers among Governors for 12 states, one Union Terittory

The gubernatorial appointments were made following the recommendations of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Of the 13 governors named Sunday, six are fresh, and seven others have been moved from one state or UT to another.

A press statement issued by the President House said Lieutenant General Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik (retired) will be the new Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Lakshman Prasad Acharya was appointed the Governor of Sikkim; C P Radhakrishnan the Governor of Jharkhand; Shiv Pratap Shukla the Governor of Himachal Pradesh; and Gulab Chand Kataria the Governor of Assam.

Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan has been appointed the Governor of Chhattisgarh; Chhattisgarh Governor Anusuiya Uikey has been shifted as Governor of Manipur; Manipur Governor La Ganesan has been appointed the Governor of Nagaland; Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan is now Governor of Meghalaya; Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has been shifted as Governor of Bihar, Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais is now Governor of Maharashtra; and Arunachal Pradesh governor Brigadier B D Mishra (retired) has been appointed as L-G of Ladakh.

“The above appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices,” the statement said.

Of the two Army men, while Mishra was Brigade Commander in Jaffna, Lt Gen Parnaik served as commander of the Army’s prestigious Northern Command, and it was during his tenure that bodies of two soldiers were mutilated by the Pakistani forces in Poonch sector in 2013.

During his stint in Maharashtra since September 2019, Koshyari has been in the line of opposition fire on several occasions. The latest controversy surrounding him, which prompted Opposition parties to demand his removal, related to a statement two months ago terming Maratha king Shivaji as a “thing of the past era” and comparing him with others.

In January he said that he had conveyed his desire to quit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had assumed charge over three years ago in the midst of a political turmoil following Shiv Sena severing its ties with the BJP. He had said his role had only brought him unhappiness. Speaking to a delegation of Jain spiritual leaders on January 7, he had said, “As Governor, I never got happiness. Only unhappiness came my way. [Yet] when I meet spiritual leaders, it elevates my mind and brings joy and peace.”

Four BJP leaders, including two from Uttar Pradesh – Lakshman Prasad Acharya, C P Radhakrishnan, Shiv Pratap Shukla and Gulab Chand Kataria, have been also appointed as new governors. Acharya is a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council from the Varanasi Division Graduates Constituency.

The appointment of some of the new governors may be an indicator of the BJP’s attempts to set its house in order in some states while, according to insiders, a couple of decisions may have been taken with coming Assembly elections in mind.

New Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly. He was being viewed as one of the chief ministerial aspirants in the state, where elections are due later this year.

With the national leadership struggling to resolve the factional feud in the Rajasthan unit and put forward a united face ahead of polls, Kataria’s elevation to the gubernatorial position may ease some pressure. The move could also alter the power equations in the state unit, sources said.

With Meghalaya and Nagaland set to vote in the Assembly elections on February 27, sources in the BJP said the party wanted experienced hands in the Raj Bhavan. Both states have a history of political instability and frequent political re-alignments and governors can play a key role in the post-poll scenario. While Phagu Chouhan, currently the Governor of Bihar, has been sent to Meghalaya, La Ganesan, who was the Governor of Manipur and served in an interim capacity in West Bengal, has been appointed the Governor of Nagaland.

Former Lok Sabha MP and senior BJP leader C P Radhakrishnan’s exit from the Tamil Nadu unit could consolidate the position of state president K Annamalai. According to party sources, Radhakrishnan had “differences” with the state president and had “reservations” about his style of functioning. “The BJP leadership is quite happy with the way Annamalai functions and leads the state unit. The leadership’s move to appoint Annamalai as the co-in-charge for the Karnataka election is an indication of it. Radhakrishnan, a loyal and committed party worker has now been placated,” said a party leader familiar with the developments.

Radhakrishnan won the Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat twice – 1998 and 1999 – and played a key role in building the party organisation in the state. He was also the state unit president and was in charge of Kerala for the BJP. There has been speculation in party circles that the BJP leadership may field Annamalai from Coimbatore.
Former Union Minister Shiv Pratap Shukla’s appointment as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh was along expected lines, said party sources. “It could be a reward for his commitment and dedication to the party and its ideology,” said a leader from Uttar Pradesh. Shukla has a strong background in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Another significant move was shifting Ramesh Bais from the Raj Bhavan in Jharkhand to Maharashtra. Bais, who had a spectacular record in electoral politics, won the Raipur constituency in Chhattisgarh seven times. He was at the centre of the political drama that unfolded in Jharkhand last year after the Election Commission (EC) sent its opinion in an office-of-profit case involving Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Considered to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bais drew flak from Opposition parties for his conflicts with the Soren government. When he sat over the EC recommendations, he was criticised for “buying time “ for the BJP to break away MLAs from both the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led by Soren and the Congress.

Meanwhile, Anusuya Uikey has been moved from Chhattisgarh to Manipur. Sources said there had been “complaints” from the state BJP against the Raj Bhavan. Uikey, who is from an Adivasi community, had been the Governor of Chhattisgarh since 2019 and last year, in the run-up to the presidential elections, she was seen as a possible candidate for Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Despite speculation about former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh being appointed Governor, his name was not there on the list. BJP sources had earlier said that Singh, whose Punjab Lok Congress merged with the BJP to “fight for Punjab”, would be offered a constitutional post or a seat in the Rajya Sabha. Although there were reports he would replace Koshiyari as the Governor of Maharashtra, Singh had dismissed them.