President Names New Governors to Nine States; Modi Aide Kailashnathan To Take Charge Of Puducherry

Haribhau Bagde, a senior BJP leader from Maaharashtra has been appointed governor of Rajasthan in place current Governor Kalraj Singh whose term ends September 8, according to a Rashtrapati Bhawan communique released late Saturday, hours after The Secretariat wrote about an impending announcement on appointment of new governors.

Veteran BJP leader and former union minister Santosh Gangwar has been appointed Governor of Jharkhand. The incumbent, CP Radhakrishnan who holds additional charge of Telangana, has been appointed Governor of Maharashtra. He replaces Ramesh Bais, whose term ends Sunday. Bais was trasferred from Jharkhand to Maharashtra in 2023 following a political crisis in the state triggered by a split in then ruling Shiv Sena party.  

Former Lok Sabha MP from Assam Ramen Deka has been appointed Governor of Chhattisgarh. Former Deputy Chief Minister of Tripura Jishnu Dev Varma has been appointed Governor of Congress-ruled Telangana.

Suprisingly, however, there was no mention of appointment of new governors for the key states of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. The governor of Gujarat, Acharya Devavrat, demitted office last week after his term ended on July 22, while the term of Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel ends Sunday.

Government sources said an announcement on these two states, both which are politically high-stake states for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, may come anytime.

Speculations that retired bureaucrat and former chief principal secretary of Gujarat K Kailashnathan, a Modi confidante, will feature in the latest round of appointments came true as the President appointed him as the Lt Governor of Puducherry. Kailashnathan retired last month after extended tenure of more than 11 years.

The office of Puducherry has been under additional charge of the governors of Telngana and Jharkhand since 2021 and 2024 respectively.

Veteran BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan O P Mathur has been appointed Governor of Sikkim,

Former Lok Sabha member from Karnataka C H Vijayshankar was appointed Governor of Meghalya. 

The President appointed current governor of Assam, Gulab Chandra Kataria, as the new Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh. The appointment of a new governor to the northern state became necessary following the resignation of the incumbent, Banwari Lal Purohit.

Kataria's place is being taken by Lakshman Prasad Acharya, who is currently the governor of Sikkim. Acharya has also been given additional charge of Manipur.

Governors are appointed for a five-year term by the President based on the recommendations made by the government of the day. Rarely, a governor gets a second term in the same state. Typically, the party in power nominates senior functionaries and leaders who it wants to reward for their loyalty and long service. 

Although the role of the Governor is largely ceremonial in normal times, it becomes crucial when there is a political crisis such as the collapse of an elected government, inter-party defections or any other development that affects political stability in the state. 

Which is why, the ruling party at the Centre considers many factors while making nominations for governors. Most governors appointed over the past 10 years have been leaders with a strong background in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – BJP’s ideological fountainhead.