Chennai, March 12 (IANS) Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar was sworn in as the Acting Governor of Tamil Nadu at a ceremony held at the historic People’s Palace in Guindy on Thursday.

The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, in the presence of several senior political leaders and officials.

The development follows a recent reshuffle in gubernatorial positions by the Union government. After the resignation of C.V. Ananda Bose as Governor of West Bengal, President Droupadi Murmu reassigned Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi to take charge of the eastern state. In view of this transition, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has been given the additional responsibility of serving as the Acting Governor of Tamil Nadu until further arrangements are made.

Arlekar arrived in Chennai late on Wednesday night ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. The event at the Raj Bhavan complex drew the presence of top functionaries from the Tamil Nadu government as well as leaders from across the political spectrum.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin attended the ceremony along with Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker M. Appavu. Several members of the state cabinet were also present, including Ministers K.N. Nehru, M.R. K. Panneerselvam, E.V. Velu, Raghupathi, M. Subramanian and Sekar Babu.

Tamil Nadu BJP President Nainar Nagendran was among the political leaders who participated in the event.

Former Telangana Governor and former Tamil Nadu BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan was also present at the ceremony.

Senior bureaucrats, including the state Chief Secretary and top police officials, attended the oath-taking event.

The ceremony marked a significant administrative transition for the state, coming amid changes in Governors in several states. Earlier in the day, R.N. Ravi took the oath as the Governor of West Bengal, formally assuming charge of the office.

With Arlekar now handling the additional responsibility as Acting Governor of Tamil Nadu, the state administration is expected to continue functioning under the interim gubernatorial arrangement until the Centre makes a permanent appointment.

–IANS

aal/dpb