President Appoints Governors In 5 States, Ajay Bhalla Named Manipur Guv, Arif Mohammed Khan Shifted To Bihar

President Murmu accepts Raghubar Das's resignation as Odisha Governor. Hari Babu Kambhampati replaces him. Other changes include Arif Mohammed Khan to Bihar, Ajay Kumar Bhalla to Manipur.

President Droupadi Murmu has appointed new governors for five states, as per a statement from the President's Secretariat issued on Tuesday. Former Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla has been appointed as the Governor of Manipur. Bhalla, a retired 1984-batch IAS officer, served as the Union Home Secretary from 22 August 2019 to 22 August 2024.  

Arif Mohammed Khan, the Governor of Kerala since 2019, will now serve as the Governor of Bihar. Born on 18 November 1951 in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, Khan is an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University and Lucknow University. He is a staunch critic of the Muslim Personal Law Board and resigned from Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet over differences regarding the Shah Bano case. Khan has also represented the Kanpur and Bahraich constituencies in the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 12th Lok Sabha.  

Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, the Governor of Bihar, has been reassigned as the Governor of Kerala. Arlekar, who began his political journey with the RSS at a young age, joined the BJP in 1989. He has held positions as a Cabinet Minister and Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly and previously served as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh before being appointed Bihar Governor on 14 February 2023.  

General Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd.), a former Army Chief and Union Minister, has been appointed as the Governor of Mizoram. Singh, who served in the Army for 42 years, played a significant role in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and participated in the Indian Peace Keeping Force's operations against the LTTE in Sri Lanka in 1987.  He announced his retirement from electoral politics before this year's Lok Sabha election.

President Accepts Odisha Governor Raghubar Das's Resignation, Appoints His Replacement

President Murmu accepted the resignation of Raghubar Das as the Governor of Odisha. Das, a senior BJP leader from Chhattisgarh, resigned from the position recently. Hari Babu Kambhampati, currently the Governor of Mizoram, has been reassigned as the Governor of Odisha.  

The appointments will take effect from the dates the respective appointees assume charge of their offices.