President Kovind appoints Acharya Devvrat as Governor of Gujarat, Kalraj Mishra as Governor of Himachal Pradesh

In a major political development, President of India has appointed  Acharya Devvrat as the governor of Gujarat and Kalraj Mishra as the governor of Himachal Pradesh. Acharya Devrat who was the governor of Himachal Pradesh has been trasferred to become the governor of Vijya Rupani led Gujarat and Kalraj Mishra who had announced ahead of the Lok Sabha elections that he won't contest, was appointed as Himachal Pradesh's governor. 

While Mishra has been a Member of the Rajya Sabha three times and won the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Deoria constituency in Uttar Pradesh, Devrat was serving as governor of Himachal Pradesh since 2015. Currently, Gujarat Governor O P Kohli (83), a RSS veteran, completed his term while Goa Governor Mridula Sinha will finish her term in August. Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao (78) and Nagaland's P B Acharya (87) will also retire in next two months.  

Nine governors, including in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, will be completing their five-year terms in the next three months. The three states where the focus remains are Uttar Pradesh where governor Ram Naik  will retire on July 21,  West Bengal governor KN Tripathi will retire on July 23 and Tripura governor Kaptan Singh Solanki will retire on July 26, completing their respective five-year tenure.

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Under Article 155 and Article 156 of the Constitution, a governor is an appointee of the President of India, and s/he holds the office during the pleasure of the President. In the announcement the letter said:

The President of India is pleased to make the following appointment/ changes:-

(i)          Acharya Devvrat, Governor of Himachal Pradesh is transferred and appointed as Governor of Gujarat.

(ii)        Shri Kalraj Mishra as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh.

2.      The above appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices. For immediate release.

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