Hyderabad: Former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya will take oath as the governor of Himachal Pradesh on September 5. The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader told reporters here on Monday that he will leave for Himachal Pradesh on September 4 and will take oath as Governor the next day.

He was speaking after performing 'puja' at the famous Ganesh idol at Khariratabad here. The 61-feet idol is the tallest among the idols installed in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

One of the new Governors appointed for five states by the Centre on Sunday, Dattatreya thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for reposing confidence in him.

The 72-year-old was elected to Lok Sabha for four terms from Secunderabad constituency here.

He served as Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and also in earlier Modi government. Dattatreya, who was dropped from the ministry in 2017, was also denied ticket in the recent elections.