Maharashtra governor K Sankaranarayanan, who was transferred to Mizoram for his remaining tenure, resigned on Sunday.
Sankaranarayanan while addressing the media after sending his resignation papers to the President thanked all political parties in Maharashtra for their support.
Sankaranarayanan said it was not possible for him to shift to Mizoram but refused to elaborate any further.
Gujarat governor OP Kohli, who has been asked to discharge duty as Maharashtra governor for the time being, is arriving in Mumbai in the evening and the swearing-in will take place at 8pm , sources said.
A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique issued on Saturday night said that Sankaranarayanan was shifted to Mizoram and that Gujarat governor OP Kohli was asked to discharge his duties.
Eighty-two-year-old Sankaranarayanan, a senior Congress leader, was among the first batch of governors who was telephoned by home secretary Anil Goswami to put in his papers after change of government at the Centre. His tenure was to end in 2017.
After a nudge from the home secretary, Sankaranarayanan had said in June that he will consider quitting if asked by an "appropriate authority".
Sankaranaryanan was transferred to a post that was held by Kamla Beniwal who was sacked earlier this month. A month earlier Beniwal was posted to Mizoram from Gujarat where she had run-ins with the then chief minister Narendra Modi. 87-year-old Beniwal was removed just two months before her tenure was due to end.
Sankaranarayanan has been serving as governor of Maharashtra since January 22, 2010. He took oath as governor of Maharashtra for a second time on May 7, 2012 after the President granted him a fresh term of 5 years.
The resignation of Sankaranaryanan came close on the heels of the Supreme Court issuing a notice to the Centre on Uttarakhand governor's plea challenging Modi government's moves to ease him out of office, bringing the controversy over removal of UPA-appointed governors under judicial lens.
The apex court had also issued notice to Goswami who had allegedly threatened Governor Aziz Qureshi to resign from the post or face removal by Centre. Virendra Kataria, a former Congress leader, was also sacked as Puducherry governor last month.
Goswami is believed to have telephoned some of the governors, appointed by the previous UPA regime, asking them to step down after which West Bengal governor MK Narayanan, Nagaland governor Ashwani Kumar, UP Governor BL Joshi and Chhattisgarh governor Shekhar Dutt put in their papers.
(with PTI inputs)
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