Ramesh Bais appointed as new Governor of Maharashtra

Ramesh Bais, who was the governor of Jharkhand, has been appointed as the new Governor of Maharashtra. He will replace Bhagat Singh Koshyari as Governor of Maharashtra. Bais has served as the 10th Governor of Jharkhand since July 2021. He was also the Governor of Tripura from July 2019 to July 2021. Bais was also the minister in former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government from 1999. He served as a Union Minister of State (Independent charge) for the Environment and Forests. He was elected to Lok Sabha from Raipur.

Earlier in January, Koshyari offered to step down from the post of Governor. In a statement, Koshyari said that he had conveyed his wish to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Mumbai. "It was an absolute honour and privilege for me to serve as the Rajya Sevak or Rajyapal of a great state like Maharashtra – the land of saints, social reformers, and valiant fighters," said Koshyari.

Koshyari was appointed as Governor in September 2019. It was during his tenure, Uddhav Thackeray's government lost power to a breakaway faction led by Eknath Shinde, now the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. 

Koshyari in the statement said he can never forget the love and affection he received from the people of Maharashtra during the last little more than three years. "During the recent visit of the Prime Minister to Mumbai, I have conveyed to him my desire to be discharged of all political responsibilities and to spend the remainder of my life in reading, writing, and other activities," he said. 

The Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and the Congress welcomed the exit of Koshyari from Raj Bhavan. NCP chief Sharad Pawar said the state was now relieved, but the decision to replace him should have been taken much earlier by the Centre. Koshyari had been in the line of opposition fire over his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji. He recently described Chhatrapati Shivaji as the "icon of olden times".

In 2020, he administered the oath of office to BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar as the deputy chief minister in a shocking early morning ceremony. Koshyari had several run-ins with the Uddhav Thakeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government on a range of issues, including the appointment of 12 members to the state legislative council from the gubernatorial quota, which he never approved. 

Besides Koshyari, President Droupadi Murmu also accepted the resignation of R K Mathur as the governor of Ladakh. Mathur has been facing opposition led by noted education reformist Sonam Wangchuk. He has been replaced with Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig B D Mishra (retd).

List of new Governors appointed today

General Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik, PVSM, UYSM, YSM (Retired) as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh

Lakshman Prasad Acharya as Governor of Sikkim

C.P. Radhakrishnan as Governor of Jharkhand

Shiv Pratap Shukla as Governor of Himachal Pradesh

Gulab Chand Kataria as Governor of Assam

Justice (Retd.) S. Abdul Nazeer as Governor of Andhra Pradesh

Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh appointed as Governor of Chhattisgarh

Anusuiya Uikye, Governor of Chhattisgarh appointed as Governor of Manipur

La. Ganesan, Governor of Manipur appointed as Governor of Nagaland

Phagu Chauhan, Governor of Bihar appointed as Governor of Meghalaya

Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Governor of Himachal Pradesh appointed as Governor of Bihar

Ramesh Bais, Governor of Jharkhand appointed as Governor of Maharashtra

Brig. (Dr.) Shri B.D. Mishra (Retd.), Governor of Arunachal Pradesh appointed as Lt. Governor of Ladakh

(With inputs from PTI)