With the 60th annual Republic Day celebrations only a few days away, the Central government has finalized a list of new Governors for seven states - West Bengal, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh.

According to TIMES NOW reports, the National Security Adviser M K Narayanan will take over as the new Governor of West Bengal, former Home Minister Shivraj Patil will assume the Governor’s office in Punjab.

While former Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt will become the new Chhattisgarh Governor, the senior Congress leader Mohsina Kidwai will be the new Governor of Jharkhand.

The present Jharkhand Governor K Sankaranarayan will take over the Governorship of Maharashtra; and senior Congress leader from Gujarat and ex-Union minister Urmilaben Patil will be appointed as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh. The current Himachal Pradesh Governor will take over as the Governor of Rajasthan.

Another addition to the new Governor appointments, some of which mark a shift from the Governorship of one state to another, ESL Narasimhan will, as expected, move from Chhattisgarh to become the new Andhra Pradesh Governor.

The list of new Governors has already been finalized by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, after a recent meeting, and has been forwarded to the Rashtrapati Bhavan by the Home Ministry.