Ex-Union minister Arif Mohammed Khan, BJP leaders Soundararajan, Koshyari, Dattatreya appointed govs
New Delhi, Sep 1: Senior BJP leaders Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Tamilisai Soundararajan were appointed as Governors of Maharashtra and Telangana on Sunday.
Former Union minister Arif Mohammed Khan and BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya were appointed as Governors of Kerala and Himachal Pradesh, respectively, according to an official statement.
Fifty-eight-year-old Soundararajan, the former Tamil Nadu BJP chief and the party's national secretary, moves to Raj Bhavan in Telangana.
Tamilisai Soundararajan
The post was under the dual charge of E S L Narasimhan, who was the Governor of Andhra Pradesh before its bifurcation. He recently demitted office.
Koshyari replaces Vidya Sagar Rao, whose five-year term came to an end.
Bhagat Singh Koshyari
Former civil aviation minister Khan takes over as the Governor of Kerala, replacing P Sathasivam, the former chief justice of India whose five-year term came to an end.
Dattatreya has been appointed as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh replacing Kalraj Mishra, who moves to Rajasthan.
Bandaru Dattatreya
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UDF will have huge win in Kerala, NDA won't open its account: Cong leader Satheesan
Kochi (PTI): Senior Congress leader V D Satheesan on Friday expressed confidence in a huge win by the UDF, claiming it will make a clean sweep in five districts, and brushed aside speculations that the NDA will open its account in Kerala.
Satheesan, speaking to reporters here a day after the conclusion of the Assembly polls, praised the performance of the UDF leaders and workers during the election, saying it was the best ever he has seen in the last 30 years.
He said that his claims of the UDF getting over 100 seats is not a mere statement, but based on the work the front has done during the last five years to bring back all those who had left it in 2005 and as a result, there was a huge wave in its favour in the state.
The leader of opposition in the state assembly, who contested from the Paravoor constituency, further said that the Congress-led front also had a major social backing from minorities and marginalised groups in the society.
Besides that, there was an anti-incumbency feeling among the people who were disappointed with the LDF rule, he claimed and said that the UDF provided them with a hope and an alternative which no other opposition had done in the past.
"All these factors will contribute to a huge win for the UDF and it would not be surprising if we make a clean sweep in Malappuram, Wayanad, Ernakulam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts. That is a total of 43 seats," he said.
According to him, the polling percentage increased because the UDF got people added to the electoral list.
He also brushed aside the LDF remarks about a woman or youth CM, saying that "they can make such statements now as they know they cannot win".
"Otherwise, why did they campaign with Pinarayi Vijayan as the main factor. Why did they say a third Pinarayi rule will come?" he asked.
He also claimed that the LDF's decision to spend government money on its political campaign, by putting up hoardings and carrying out social media programmes to sway voters, has also backfired as people realised that their taxes were being wasted like that.
Asked whether the NDA will open its account, especially in areas where the UDF claimed the BJP-led front had made a deal with the LDF, Satheesan replied in the negative.
He said that as of now he does not see any chance of the NDA opening its account in the state.
