The government announced new gubernatorial appointments on Tuesday, including former Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla as Governor of Manipur and former Army Chief General VK Singh as Governor of Mizoram.
Among other appointments made by President Draupadi Murmu on Tuesday: Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammad Khan Governor of Bihar; Governor of Mizoram Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati as Governor of Odisha; And Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar became the Governor of Kerala.
Bhalla’s selection as Manipur’s governor is significant as the Center has been struggling to control communal violence in the state for over a year and a half. Bhalla was the Union Home Secretary when the violence broke out on May 3, 2023.
Despite the deployment of Central Armed Police Force and army personnel in significant numbers, violence continues between the Meitei and Kuki populations in the state. Bhalla, who retired in August this year, is expected to use his experience as Union Home Secretary to find a way to contain the violence and bring the warring parties to the negotiating table.
As Kerala Governor, former Congress leader Arif Mohammad Khan has had several run-ins with the CPI(M) government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. His move in Bihar is significant as the state is due for elections next year.
Former Army Chief General VK Singh was Minister of State (Foreign Affairs, Road Transport and Highways, Civil Aviation) in the previous NDA government. However, he was not given a BJP ticket before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
His appointment as Mizoram Governor is significant as the NDA was defeated in the last assembly elections. Mizoram is also closely associated with the ongoing turmoil in Manipur because its population identifies with the Chin-Kuki hill tribes of Manipur.
Former BJP MP from Andhra Pradesh Haribabu Kambhampati was serving as Governor of Mizoram before being sent to Odisha.
In a related development, the President accepted the resignation of Odisha Governor Raghubar Das amid speculation that the former Jharkhand chief minister might return to active politics in his home state.
The BJP leadership’s continued faith in Kambhamapati is in line with the party’s tradition of rewarding stalwarts, especially those who took part in the JP movement. In 1974–1975, Kambapati participated in the Lok Sangharsha Samiti movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan. During the Emergency, he was arrested under the Internal Security Act (MISA) and spent 6 months in jail.
After serving as an office bearer in the Janata Party and, later, the BJP, Kambahampati was elected as an MLA from the Visakhapatnam-I constituency in 1999. In March 2014, he was elected as the president of the Andhra unit of the BJP.
Arlekar, who was transferred from Bihar as Kerala Governor, is an RSS veteran. He joined the BJP in 1989, and was an active member of the Goa BJP. When former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was brought to the Center as the Union Defense Minister in 2014, Arlekar was in the race for the Chief Ministerial post but the party eventually chose Laxmikant Parsekar.
In July 2021, Arlekar was appointed as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, after Bandaru Dattatreya was transferred from Himachal Pradesh as the Governor of Haryana. Arlekar was later appointed Governor of Bihar.
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