President Ram Nath Kovind announced the appointment of four new Governors, and one transfer in the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana, on Sunday.

Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief has been appointed the Governor of Telangana and former Union minister Bandaru Dattatrey, former Secundrabad MP, has been put in charge of Himachal Pradesh, replacing Kalraj Mishra. Former Congress leader Arif Mohammed Khan has been appointed the new Kerala Governor, replacing P Sathasivam. Bhagat Singh Koshyari is the new Governor of Maharashtra. Kalraj Mishra, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, will replace Kalyan Singh in Rajasthan.

Soundararajan, 58, has been appointed as the Governor of Telangana, replacing ESL Narasimhan.  A doctor by profession, she is the daughter of former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Kumari Anandan and niece of Congress MP from Kanyakumari, H. Vasanthakumar. Though she belongs to a traditionally Congress-leaning family, Soundararajan was attracted by the BJP ideology and has been working full-time for the party from 1999 where BJP is trying to make a mark.

Soundararajan was made Tamil Nadu BJP unit president in 2014.

ESL Narasimhan, was the Governor of Andhra Pradesh before its bifurcation and served as the Governor of both the Telegu states even after Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated until mid-July this year when the state got a new Governor, Odisha BJP leader Biswa Bhushan Harichandan.

Kalraj Mishra, a senior BJP leader who became the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, replacing Acharya Devvrat has now been appointed as Governor of Rajasthan, where he replaces incumbent Kalyan Singh.

68 years old Congress leader Arif Mohammed Khan the new Kerala Governor, had earlier quit the Rajiv Gandhi government over the Shah Bano case and has been cited many times by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in triple talaq debates. He showed support to the Centre on its Article 370 move. The former Cabinet Minister hails from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.

After being appointed as the new Kerala Governor, Khan said, “It is an opportunity to serve. Fortunate to be born in a country like India which is so vast and rich in diversity. It is a great opportunity for me to know this part of India, which forms boundary of India and is called God’s own country.”

Bandaru Dattatreya replaces Mishra in Himachal Pradesh. BJP leader from Uttarakhand Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been appointed the new Governor of Maharashtra, which is going for assembly elections later this year.

Statement from the President’s office says that the appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.