Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala and 2 other states get new governors

Prominent Muslim face and former Congress leader Arif Mohammed Khan has been appointed the new Kerala Governor, replacing P. Sathasivam.

Khan had earlier quit the Rajiv Gandhi government over the Shah Bano case and has been cited many times by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in triple talaq debates. He has also supported the Centre on its Article 370 move.

The 68-year-old former Cabinet minister hails from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.

Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan has been appointed as the Governor of Telangana, replacing E.S.L. Narasimhan.

A former Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Narasimhan was appointed as the Governor of the undivided Andhra Pradesh in January 2010 by the then UPA government. He served as the Governor of both the Telegu states even after Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated until mid-July this year when the state got a new Governor -- Odisha BJP leader Biswa Bhushan Harichandan.

Soundararajan, a doctor by profession, is the daughter of former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Kumari Anandan and niece of Congress MP from Kanniyakumari, H. Vasanthakumar. Though she belongs to a traditionally Congress-leaning family, Soundararajan was attracted by the BJP ideology and has been working full-time for the the saffron party.

She served the Tamil Nadu state BJP unit in various capacities from 1999. Soundararajan was made the president of the unit in 2014.

Kalraj Mishra, who was the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, has now been appointed as Governor of Rajasthan, where he replaces incumbent Kalyan Singh.

The senior BJP leader was earlier given the charge of the Himachal Pradesh Governor replacing Acharya Devvrat.

Bandaru Dattatreya replaces Mishra in Himachal Pradesh.

Besides, BJP leaders from Uttarakhand Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been appointed the new Governor of Maharashtra, replacing Vidyasagar Rao.

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

After being appointed as the new Kerala Governor, Khan said: "It is an opportunity to serve. Fortunate to be born in a country like India which is so vast and rich in diversity. It is a great opportunity for me to know this part of India, which forms boundary of India and is called God's own country."