Narasimhan to be AP Governor

Jan. 16: The National Security Adviser, Mr M.K. Narayanan, is being appointed the Governor of West Bengal and former home minister, Mr Shivraj Patil, in Punjab as the Centre has finalised a list of five new Governors in various states.

The former defence secretary, Mr Shekhar Dutt, has been chosen for Chhattisgarh from where Mr E.S.L. Narasimhan moves to Andhra Pradesh Raj Bhavan, highly-placed sources said.

Senior Congress leader Mohsina Kidwai will be the new Governor of Jharkhand from where Mr K. Sankaranarayan is being shifted to Maharashtra.

The Himachal Pradesh Governor, Ms Prabha Rau, is being moved to Rajasthan from Himachal Pradesh where senior Congress leader from Gujarat and former Union minister, Ms Urmilaben Patel, will be the new incumbent.

The names of Governors, which were cleared at a meeting between the Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Friday have been forwarded to the Rashtrapati Bhavan by the home ministry.

The appointment of 75-year-old Narayanan, a former IB chief, creates a vacancy in the NSA's post for which former foreign secretaries, Mr Shyam Saran, and Mr Shivshankar Menon are believed to be the front runners.