Amid talks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertaking the first cabinet reshuffle in his second term at the Centre, the Rashtrapati Bhavan today announced a major reshuffle of Governors. In a move that hints at an imminent cabinet expansion, Union minister Thawarchand Gehlot has been appointed as Karnataka Governor and Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel was named as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh.

Union Minister Thawarchand Gehlot is the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. With the latest announcement, eight states have got new governors.

P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, Governor of Mizoram, has been transferred and appointed as the new Governor of Goa. Satyadev Narayan Arya, Governor of Haryana, has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Tripura. Ramesh Bais, Governor of Tripura, has been shifted to Jharkhand.

Bandaru Dattatraya, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Haryana. Hari Babu Kambhampati has been appointed Governor of Mizoram. Kambhampati succeeds P S Sreedharan Pillai.

Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has been made Governor of Himachal Pradesh. Arlekar replaces Bandaru Dattatraya.

“The above appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices,” said a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Reacting to the appointment, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said, “Pleased to know that Shri Thawarchand Gehlot has been appointed as the Governor of Karnataka. I convey my best wishes to him on his gubernatorial assignment.”

Notably, the two states where the respective governors have been at the loggerheads with the legislature have not been touched. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the Centre seeking recall of Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. On the other hand, the Congress had also written to the President seeking recall of Lakshadweep Governor Praful Khoda Patel. In Maharashtra, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been the target of the MVA government, especially NCP chief Sharad Pawar.