Kalraj Mishra appointed Himachal Pradesh Governor, Acharya Devvrat shunted to Gujarat

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kalraj Mishra has been appointed as new Governor of Himachal Pradesh. Acharya Devvrat, Governor of Himachal Pradesh is reportedly transferred and is being appointed as Governor of Gujarat. 

A Rashtrapati Bhavan press communique said the appointments of Mishra and Devvrat will come into effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.

Mishra who has been a Member of the Rajya Sabha three times had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Deoria constituency in Uttar Pradesh. However, he decided not to contest the 2019 general elections stations stating that he had been given other responsibilities by the party. 

He won the Deoria Lok Sabha constituency with 4,96,500 votes defeating BSP's Niyaj Ahmad by a margin of more than 2.65 lakh votes.

Mishra, who served as the Union Cabinet minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, before resigning in September 2017, has a strong backing from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He also served as a member on the Standing Committee on Defence till August 2018.

"When I completed 75 years, I told the leadership that they can take any decision about me...This time when I offered to resign, the Prime Minister got emotional," Mishra had said after resigning.

Several BJP veterans were denied tickets to contest Lok Sabha Elections after the party decided not to field candidates to those above 75 years of age, leading to veteran leaders like L K Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi missing out.

Devvrat, 60, was appointed as Governor of Himachal Pradesh in 2015. He will replace Governor of Gujarat OP Kohli, who retires on Monday.