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Satya Pal Malik is new J&K Governor

President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday transferred Satya Pal Malik, 72, from Bihar to take over as the new Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, replacing NN Vohra -- one of longest serving governors, who completed 10 years in office last June.

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Five days before the annual Amarnath yatra draws to a close and amidst speculations of government formation, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday transferred Satya Pal Malik, 72, from Bihar to take over as the new Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, replacing NN Vohra -- one of longest serving governors, who completed 10 years in office last June.

Even has Vohra had expressed a wish to abdicate office by June 30, he was asked to hold on till the 60-day annual Amarnath yatra concludes on August 26, also coinciding Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan). The state has been under Governor's Rule since June 20 after the BJP ended its coalition government with Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party (PDP), saying it was "untenable" to continue because of security concerns and rising terrorism.

Born to a modest farmer family of Baghpat in Western Uttar Pradesh, Malik, an old socialist leader, later settled in Aligarh. He was a member of Janata Dal and then Samajwadi Party (SP) before joining the BJP. He also served as the union minister of state for parliamentary affairs and tourism, besides holding other important positions in central and state governments. He was a Rajya Sabha MP for two terms and a Lok Sabha MP from 1989 to 1990. Malik was also a member of Uttar Pradesh Assembly from 1974 to 1977.

His predecessor, Vohra, 82, who was Centre's interlocutor, was also sent to Jammu and Kashmir during tumultuous times in 2008 when the state was in flames over the Amarnath land transfer row. Vohra not only cooled the situation but successfully conducted the Assembly elections that year, which saw a record turnout despite terror threats and boycott calls. After his first term ended in 2013, he was given an extension by the then Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over in 2014, Vohra was allowed to continue as the governor.

The new governor is taking charge when hectic backroom efforts are on for the government formation in the state. Insiders say BJP is exploring the option of having the first Hindu chief minister from Jammu region in the state. There are also reports that People's Conference leader Sajad Lone may get the deputy chief minister post. If sources are to be believed, there will be another deputy chief minister from the PDP rebels to make the government formation an inclusive exercise. Five PDP MLAs and two MLCs have openly revolted against the leadership of Mufti. A political formation requires 44 members for simple majority to form the government in the 87-member House.

PDP is the single largest party with 28 members, followed by BJP with 25 MLAs. National Conference has 15 and Congress has 12 members in the House. People's Conference has two MLAs while CPIM and PDF have one member each. Rest are independents. Sources here say that Vohra was not ready to comply. "At this stage, he is not ready to accommodate certain decisions," a senior security official said.

Apart from the appointment of Malik, the Centre has appointed BJP veteran and Atal Bihari Vajpayee's close aide Lal Ji Tandon as Governor of Bihar and Satyadev Narayan Arya as the Governor of Haryana. Tathagata Roy, who was the Governor of Tripura has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Meghalaya while Kaptan Singh Solanki, who was Governor of Haryana has been appointed as the Governor of Tripura. Baby Rani Maurya has been made the Governor of Uttarakhand.

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