BJP appoints Najma Heptulla, 3 others as governors

Former Union minister Najma Heptulla and three senior BJP leaders were appointed as governor and lieutenant-governor on Wednesday.

Ms Heptulla, who had resigned recently as the minority affairs minister, was appointed governor of Manipur, while former Rajya Sabha MP, V.P. Singh Badnore, will go to Punjab in the gubernatorial post.

Three-time former Lok Sabha MP from Nagpur, Mr Banwarilal Purohit, will be the governor of Assam, while senior Delhi BJP leader and former state finance minister Jagdish Mukhi has been appointed as the lieutenant-governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Ms Heptulla had resigned in wake of an unofficial 75-year age bar set for Union ministers due to which senior leaders like L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were not accommodated in the Cabinet.

Haryana governor Kaptan Singh Solanki was holding the additional charge of Punjab, while Meghalaya governor V. Shanmuganathan was acting as Manipur’s governor.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan communiqué said that Prof. Jagdish Mukhi, who has been a member of the Delhi legislative Assembly from Janakpuri constituency, has been appointed as Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Nagaland Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya was holding additional charge as Assam Governor. A Rashtrapati Bhawan communiqué said that Professor Jagdish Mukhi, who has been a member of the Delhi legislative Assembly from Janakpuri constituency, has been appointed as Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in place of Lt. General (Retd) A.K. Singh.