The Centre is mulling a rejig of governors across states, an exercise that may see H.R. Bhardwaj moving out of the Karnataka Raj Bhavan.
Government sources said any new appointments or transfers of governors are likely in the first week of June, about a month after the UPA-II government completes two years in office.
The changes are likely in states like Mizoram, Tripura, Rajasthan , Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, among others.
At present, Punjab governor Shivraj Patil holds additional charge of Rajasthan following the demise of Prabha Rau. While the government may be keen to give Rajasthan a new governor, the current Mizoram governor, Lt. Gen. M.M. Lakhera (Retd), is expected to end his five-year tenure soon since he was appointed in July 2006.
Apart from this, Tamil Nadu governor Surjit Singh Barnala, who has been in his post since 2004, may be moved out, the sources said.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh governor E.S.L. Narasimhan’s five-year tenure ends next year. Mr Narasimhan worked as governor of Chhattisgarh between 2007 and 2009.
In January 2010, the UPA-II government had announced its first major reshuffle and new gubernatorial appointments. While E.S.L. Narasimhan was shifted to Andhra Pradesh from Chhattisgarh for the remainder of his term, Prabha Rau was transferred from Himachal Pradesh to Rajasthan for the remainder of her term. K. Sankaranarayanan, governor of Jharkhand, had been moved to Maharashtra.
The new appointments were M.K. Narayanan as West Bengal governor Shivraj Patil in Punjab as well as administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, and Shekhar Dutta as governor of Chhattisgarh, among others.