With Assembly elections in West Bengal round the corner, Governor C V Ananda Bose resigned Thursday citing “personal reasons”. He was replaced by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi who had been at loggerheads with the DMK-led government in the state.As part of major gubernatorial appointments announced by President Droupadi Murmu Thursday night, Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) was named the new Bihar Governor, taking over from Arif Mohammed Khan.AdvertisementTaranjit Singh Sandhu, retired diplomat and a former Ambassador to the US, will be the new Lt Governor of Delhi, replacing Vinai Kumar Saxena who was posted to Ladakh as Lt Governor.Ladakh Lt Governor Kavinder Gupta, a former Deputy Chief Minister in the BJP-PDP government in the erstwhile state of J&K, will be the new Governor of Himachal Pradesh.Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla will move from Himachal Pradesh to Telangana. He will take over from Jishnu Dev Varma who was appointed Governor of Maharashtra, according to a communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan.AdvertisementNand Kishore Yadav, former Speaker of Bihar Assembly, was appointed Governor of Nagaland which had so far been functioning under the additional charge of Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.With Ravi being sent to West Bengal, Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar will administer Tamil Nadu for the time being.Also Read | ‘Right-sizing’ federalism: Tamil Nadu panel headed by Justice Kurian Joseph calls for changes in language policy, Governor postBose, who was appointed West Bengal Governor in November 2022, could be given another responsibility, and the top leadership was kept in the loop over the resignation, sources in the government said.BJP sources said Bose’s exit was seen to have been triggered by a bid to keep him from becoming a vantage point for the TMC to attack the BJP during the upcoming state Assembly elections.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the move. “I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Shri C V Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal. The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union Home Minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State Assembly elections. The Union Home Minister just informed me that Shri R N Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal. He never consulted me as per the established convention in this regard,” she said in a post on X.Also Read | ‘Though I’m a vegetarian, when J-K students came…’: Vice President recalls his time as Jharkhand Governor“Such actions undermine the spirit of the Constitution of India and strike at the very foundation of our federal structure. The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of states,” she said.Bose, who succeeded Jagdeep Dhankhar, who was in constant conflict with the TMC government, had earned the ire of local BJP leaders for his less confrontational approach towards the elected government. Senior party leaders, including Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, had publicly criticised Bose for being close to the Chief Minister.According to sources, Bose is likely to take part in official proceedings related to the visit of President Droupadi Murmu, who reaches the state for a two-day visit Friday, since Ravi would need to be sworn in and complete additional formalities.The Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said the gubernatorial appointments will take effect from the dates the individuals concerned assume charge of their respective offices.BJP sources said it was about time that vacancies for the posts of Governor in Maharashtra and Nagaland were filled.“Maharashtra had been without a Governor since C P Radhakrishnan’s election as Vice-President and was being administered by Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat since last September. The decision related to Bihar seems to be a fallout of the situation around Nitish Kumar ji heading to the Rajya Sabha,” a party source said.“Similarly, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla had additional charge of Nagaland since the death of its former Governor La. Ganesan last year. In Union Territories such as Delhi, Saxena had completed more than three years. In Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha ji will complete six years in office in August this year,” the source said.you may likeAccording to party insiders, the reshuffle in gubernatorial ranks was part of a national exercise that also includes a possible Union Cabinet reshuffle, putting in place a fresh team for newly appointed BJP national president Nitin Nabin and an evaluation of all BJP-run state governments in the country.“Outgoing Rajya Sabha members of the NDA and leaders who have performed well within the organisation but have not been appointed to significant posts so far are likely to be considered for more gubernatorial posts going forward – there is now one vacancy in Tamil Nadu; similar vacancies are expected to arise in other states soon,” a senior party leader said.“These leaders may not necessarily be only from the BJP and may include individuals from other NDA constituents who are yet to be accommodated either in state governments or official posts outside them. Outgoing JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP and deputy chairman, Harivansh Narayan Singh’s name is also doing the rounds for a gubernatorial appointment,” the leader said.