NEW DELHI, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A fresh round of appointments and reshuffles for Raj Bhavans' (Governor House) occupants of India may be announced by the government soon in at least six states, said official reports revealed to the press Saturday.
Initial reports suggest that National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan is expected to act as new West Bengal Governor and Former Home Minister Shivraj Patil will be given the responsibility of Punjab.
Urmilaben Patel is likely to be given the charge of Himachal Pradesh and the incumbent in Shimla, Prabha Rau, will be transferred to Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Governor ESL Narasimhan will be shiftedto Andhra Pradesh full-time and Former Defense Secretary Shekhar Dutt will be the new governor of Chhattisgarh.
Senior Congress leader Mohsina Kidwai will be the new governor of Jharkhand.
But, the one who has really hit the jackpot is K. Shankaranarayan for being likely to be chosen as Maharashtra governor.
Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday and is understood to have discussed the issue of governors' appointment with other senior ministers.
The appointment of 75-year-old Narayanan, a former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief, creates a vacancy in the National Security Advisor's (NSA) post, for which Former Foreign Secretaries Shyam Saran and Shivshankar Menon are believed to be the front runners.
The gubernatorial posts have been lying vacant in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Bihar Governor Devananda Konwar, Chhattisgarh Governor E.S.L. Narsimhan and Himachal Pradesh Governor Prabha Rau are at the moment holding additional charge of the Raj Bhavans in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Jaipur respectively.
In Punjab, the tenure of S.F. Rodrigues ended on Nov. 16, 2009.In Madhya Pradesh, the term of Rameshwar Thakur ended on Nov. 17, while the Maharashtra Governor S.C. Jamir completed his stint on July 16 last year.
All the three are still in their offices as their successors are yet to be announced.
