Pranab Mukherjee
Pranab MukherjeeReuters

President Pranab Mukherjee appointed new governors for five states on Saturday.

Mukherjee appointed Ashwani Kumar, former Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) director, as Governor of Nagaland replacing Nikhil Kumar, who has alternately been made the Governor of Kerala.

Ashwani Kumar who has worked in various positions in CBI and also in Special Protection Group is the first agency chief to be appointed as governor.

Veteran Congress leader SC Jamir is the new Governor of Odisha. The 82-year-old has previously served as Governor of Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra. He had also been the chief minister of Nagalnd for four terms.

It is widely assumed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's recent tussle with Governor Devanad Konwar over appointment of vice-chancellors in Bihar's universities has led the Centre to transfer Konwar to Tripura as the new governor.

While DY Patil has been shifted to Bihar as the new Governor of Bihar. Patil and Konwar will take on the governor's office for the remainder of their term.

Nikhil Kumar, a 1963 batch IPS officer, will take over the office for the first time since MH Farooqui's demise in 2012. Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj had been in charge of Kerala since 2012.