New Delhi: Assam, Manipur and Punjab are going to see a change of governors for the second time since the Narendra Modi government took over the rein at the Centre in 2014.
As per a press communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday, senior RSS leader and Nagaland Governor P.B. Acharya, who had been holding the additional charge of Assam since December 2014, will now be replaced by Banwarilal Purohit.
Purohit is a three-time member of parliament from Nagpur – twice on Congress tickets and once as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member. He left the Congress to contest Lok Sabha elections for the BJP in 1991 when the party launched a movement to construct the Ram temple in Ayodhya. He, however, lost to his Congress opponent Datta Meghe. He won the seat in 1996.
The gubernatorial post in Manipur was held by Meghalaya Governor V. Shanmuganathan since September 2015. As per the press note, the post has been given to senior BJP leader Najma Heptullah. She resigned from the Union Cabinet last month after crossing the age of 75, an unofficial cutoff age set by the party for ministerial posts.
Similarly, the Haryana Governor since July 2014, Kaptan Singh Solanki, who was also sworn in as the Punjab governor in January 2015, will be replaced by, V. P. Singh Badnore, a BJP leader from Rajasthan.
While Assam went to polls last April, Manipur and Punjab will see assembly elections early next year.
Another governor who was replaced on Wednesday is Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lieutenant Governor A.K. Singh, who will pass on the baton to BJP leader and former Delhi government finance minister Jagdish Mukhi.
Singh was one of the last few governors appointed by the UPA II government to have continued in office after the BJP government came to power. He took charge in July 2013.
As per the press secretary to the president, Venu Rajamony, “The appointments will take effect from the dates the incumbents assume charge of their respective offices.”