On February 12, 2023, the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, appointed governors in 12 states and a Union Territory (UT). These include the following 6 new appointments and 7 reshuffles:
| State/UT | New Governor/Lieutenant Governor | Previous Governor |
|---|---|---|
| New Appointments | ||
| Arunachal Pradesh | Lieutenant General Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik (retired) | Brigadier B D Mishra (retired) |
| Sikkim | Lakshman Prasad Acharya | Ganga Prasad Chaurasia |
| Jharkhand | C P Radhakrishnan | Ramesh Bais |
| Himachal Pradesh | Shiv Pratap Shukla | Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar |
| Assam | Gulab Chand Kataria | Prof Jagdish Mukhi |
| Andhra Pradesh | Justice (retired) Syed Abdul Nazeer | Biswa Bhusan Harichandan |
| Reshuffle | ||
| Chhattisgarh | Biswa Bhusan Harichandan | Sushri Anusuiya Uikye |
| Manipur | Sushri Anusuiya Uikye | La Ganesan |
| Nagaland | La Ganesan | Prof Jagdish Mukhi (Additional Charge) |
| Bihar | Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar | Phagu Chauhan |
| Meghalaya | Phagu Chauhan | Brigadier B D Mishra (Additional Charge) |
| Ladakh (Lieutenant Governor) | Brigadier B D Mishra (retired) | Radha Krishna Mathur |
| Maharashtra | Ramesh Bais | Bhagat Singh Koshyari |
Note: The above appointments also followed the resignation of two Governors viz. Maharashtra’s Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Ladakh’s Radha Krishnan Mathur, which was accepted by the President of India.
About Lt Gen (retired) Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik:
Lt Gen (retired) Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik, a former commander of the Army’s Northern Command who served in the Army for more than four decades, has been appointed as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.
- He has also commanded the Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) in Bhutan, a corps in the Northeast.
About Lakshman Prasad Acharya:
Lakshman Prasad Acharya, an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is appointed as the new governor of Sikkim.
- He is related to kharwar tribes, a scheduled tribe with origin from the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh(UP).
About C P Radhakrishnan:
C. P. Radhakrishnan, a BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, has been named the new governor of Jharkhand.
- He was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Coimbatore constituency in 1998 and 1999.
About Shiv Pratap Shukla:
BJP leader Shiv Pratap Shukla hailing from Rudrapur in Uttar Pradesh was appointed as the new governor of Himachal Pradesh.
- He is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha and was appointed as the BJP Chief Whip in 2020.
- He served as the Union minister of state for finance from 2014-2019.
About Gulab Chand Kataria:
Gulab Chand Kataria, the Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, was appointed as Assam Governor.
- He is currently serving his 8th term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Rajasthan
About Justice (retired) Syed Abdul Nazeer:
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Syed Abdul Nazeer who was a part of the historic judgment on the property dispute in Ayodhya was appointed as Governor of Andhra Pradesh(AP).
- He was also part of the five-judge bench in the ‘triple talaq’ matter but had delivered a minority verdict along with the then Chief Justice of India J S Khehar.
About Appointment of Governor:
Article 153 of the Constitution of India mandates the presence of a Governor in each state.
Under article 155 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of a State is appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
- The executive power of the State is vested in the Governor and should be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinates to him in accordance with Article 154.
A person to be eligible for appointment as Governor should be a citizen of India and has a completed age of 35 years (Article 157).
Recent Related News:
i.Maithili Thakur, a Folk Singer, was appointed as the State Icon for Bihar by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
ii.An Indian-American aerospace industry expert A.C Charania has been appointed as National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s new chief technologist. He will serve as the principal advisor to Administrator Bill Nelson on technology policy and programmes at NASA’s headquarters.
About President of India:
The President is known as the first citizen of India. The manner of election of President is provided by Article 55 of the constitution.
First President of India– Rajendra Prasad
