Former union minister Najma A Heptulla, who lost her cabinet post in the last reshuffle, was appointed Governor of poll-bound Manipur. She was one of the four new governors appointed by the Centre, along with those for Assam, Punjab and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. President Pranab Mukherjee issued the orders on Wednesday.
Heptulla had resigned from the Union Ministry on July 12, 2016 after crossing 75 years of age. She will now relieve V Shamuganathan, Governor of Meghalaya, who has been holding additional duties with regard to Manipur since September 30, last year.
Apart from Heptulla at Manipur, Banwarilal Purohit has been given charge of Assam, VP Singh Badnore made Governor of Punjab —which too is headed for Assembly elections next year— and Prof Jagdish Mukhi named Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in place of Lt Gen (Retd) AK Singh, said an official communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Incidentally, the name of Tamil Nadu governor, whose terms comes to a close at the end of this month, does not figure in this list, though there were strong rumours that the incumbent, K Rosaiah, could be replaced by BJP veteran from Karnataka, Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council D H Shankaramurthy.