Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi took additional charge of the state of Mizoram on Saturday. He was sworn in as the 19th governor of Mizoram on Saturday morning at the Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan. Gauhati High Court Justice Nelson Sailo administered the oath of office to Mukhi.

President Ram Nath Kovind had appointed Mukhi to discharge the additional functions of the governor of Mizoram on Friday, a day after former Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan resigned from his post, weeks before the Lok Sabha elections. A communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan had said the president had accepted Rajasekharan’s resignation.

Rajasekharan was the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kerala unit before he was appointed governor of Mizoram in May 2018. He is now expected to be the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in the Lok Sabha election. Shashi Tharoor of the Congress currently represents the seat in the Lower House of Parliament.

Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, Cabinet members and leaders of several political parties were present at the swearing-in ceremony, IANS reported.