Sheila Dikshit appointed as new Kerala governor

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit is heading to Kerala Raj Bhavan as governor of the southern state, sources told HT.

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit is heading to Kerala Raj Bhavan as governor of the southern state, sources told HT.

Union home ministry sources said Kerala governor Nikhil Kumar has decided to resign as he wants to fight upcoming Lok Sabha election from Bihar.

“Once Kumar tenders his resignation, Dikshit’s name will be forwarded to President Pranab Mukherjee for her appointment as the governor of Kerala. Her name has been finalised and proposal has been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office in this regard,” said a source.

Dikshit remained Delhi’s chief minister for 15 years but lost the state assembly elections to AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal in November last year.

Nikhil Kumar, a former IPS official, comes from a political family. His father late Satyendra Narayan Sinha was a Bihar chief minister and seven-times Lok Sabha member from Augangabad constituency. He wants to contest from the same constituency.

“Governor is not in town at the moment. He is expected to come back on Wednesday and on the next day he has to attend two official functions in Kochi. After that he will head back to Delhi,” said a Kerala Raj Bhavan official.