Names of five Bharatiya Janata Party seniors, including former petroleum minister Ram Naik, have been finalised by the government for appointment as governors in states, including in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat, sources said on Sunday.
Former Uttar Pradesh Assembly speaker Kesri Nath Tripathi, BJP senior from Delhi V K Malhotra, former Bhopal MP Kailash Joshi and senior party leader from Punjab Balram Das Tandon are said to be the other four persons whose names have been recommended for appointment as governors.
Official sources said the formal notification for their appointment will be issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan soon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh are said to have discussed the issue two days ago and shortlisted the names, they said.
BJP veteran Naik said in Mumbai the party leadership had approached him to accept the post of governor of Uttar Pradesh, to which he had agreed.
"I was asked by my party to accept the position of the governor of UP and I said yes. It is a challenging job and I am accustomed to doing such jobs," Naik said.
If appointed, Naik will replace B L Joshi, who demitted office after the Central government decided to replace governors appointed during the UPA tenure.
