President Droupadi Murmu boldly appoints 6 new governors and decisively reshuffles 3, marking a dynamic shift in governance

President Droupadi Murmu has nominated former deputy chief minister of Tripura, Jishnu Dev Varma, as the new governor of Telangana, according to the Rashtrapati Bhavan communique.

About the President Droupadi Murmu:

Source: MidDay

President Droupadi Murmu born on 20th June 1958, is an Indian politician who currently serves as the 15th President of India from 2022. She won the presidential elections in 2022 as a candidate by the Bharatiya Janata Party. She became the first person belonging to the Santal tribal community to be a President of India and the second woman, after Pratibha Patil, to assume the office. 

At the age of 64, she became the youngest to hold presidential office and was born in post-independent India’s first president. Prior to assuming the office of President, Murmu served as the 8th governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021, thus being the longest-serving governor in the state. 

She has also been an M.L.A. to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from the constituency of Rairangpur from 2000 to 2009, and served as Minister of State (Independent Charge) to Government of Odisha from 2000 to 2004. She served as a clerk in the State Irrigation and Power Department from 1979 to 1983 and then as a teacher in Rairangpur from 1994 to 1997 before joining politics.

Who is a Governor?

Source: IndiaToday

Under Article 154 of the Constitution, each of the twenty-eight states of India is headed by a governor who is the constitutional head. The President of India appoints the Governor for a period of five years; though at the President’s discretion, the Governor continues in office.

While he is the titular head of the state government, and all the executive actions are taken in his name, he has to act according to the advice of the elected council of ministers headed by the chief minister who holds the real executive power at the state level.

Moreover, the governor enjoys the constitutional power for appointing or dismissing a ministry, recommending president’s rule, or even reserving bills for the president’s assent.

Events and Processes of Appointment and Reshuffling of the Governors:

Source: piv.gov.in

In what certainly will be a big reshuffle at the gubernatorial level, President Droupadi Murmu has appointed former Union minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar as the new governor of Jharkhand. CP Radhakrishnan will now assume the role as the governor of Maharashtra. A communique to this effect was issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan in run-up to the assembly elections in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Haryana later this year.

Meanwhile, the President has also appointed Gulab Chand Kataria as the Governor of Punjab. He would be replacing the present incumbent Banwarilal Purohit who resigned in the middle of this year owing to personal reasons. Announcing it through a communique issued late on Saturday night, Lakshman Prasad Acharya has been appointed as the new governor of Assam, with additional charge of Manipur.

It has been made clear in the statement that all these appointments would be effective from the dates on which the incumbents take charge of their respective positions.

Lakshman Prasad Acharya has been transferred from the post of Governor of Sikkim to Assam and would replace Gulab Chand Kataria, who has been appointed the Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh. Acharya has also been given additional charges as the Governor of Manipur.

Anusuiya Uikye has been the Governor of Manipur since February last year.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “Hon’ble Shri Laxman Acharya Ji has dedicated his life to the empowerment of the underprivileged. His vast experience in organisational and legislative fields backed by his highly appreciable stint as the Governor of Sikkim speaks volumes. He is sure to be an outstanding Governor for our State.”

Under Purohit, Raj Bhavan has been at loggerheads with the AAP-led state government over a number of issues, including summoning of assembly sessions and appointment of vice chancellors of state-run universities. Sunday saw Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann come out to say that he was ready to work with the newly appointed Governor Gulab Chand Kataria.

“The president has appointed the new governor. We will welcome the new governor and work together,” Mann told reporters in Chandigarh. The AAP leader said that while he respects Purohit, the latter tried to create an “atmosphere of conflict” in the state.

President Murmu accepted the resignation of Banwarilal Purohit, who resigned in February as the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh.

Veteran BJP leader Om Prakash Mathur will replace Laxman Acharya as the Governor of Sikkim, while Radhakrishnan, who until now held additional charge of Telangana, will take over from Ramesh Bais as the Governor of Maharashtra.

Former Union Labour and Employment Minister and veteran BJP leader Santosh Gangwar termed it an honour to be appointed as the new Governor of poll-bound Jharkhand by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed gratitude.

“The party has always given me everything without asking for it. Now they have expressed their trust in me by making me the Governor. Gangwar thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “I am also thankful to the Prime Minister for this opportunity.”

According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communiqué, former Deputy Chief Minister of Tripura Jishnu Dev Varma has been made the new Governor of Telangana, and former IAS officer K Kailashnathan as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde, senior BJP leader from Maharashtra, has been appointed Governor of Rajasthan, succeeding Kalraj Mishra. Chief Minister of Rajasthan Bhajanlal Sharma congratulated Bagde saying on X, “…Under your patronage and guidance, Rajasthan will rapidly progress towards becoming a developed state.”

It was also announced that former Assam MLA Ramen Deka has been made the Governor of Chhattisgarh and former Lok Sabha MP from Mysore in Karnataka, CH Vijayashankar as the Governor of Meghalaya.

Link to the X account of the President of India:

https://x.com/rashtrapatibhvn?t=i9xgoXDKdmKc2Cj2KshVpw&s=08