Patna, Nov. 23: Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi is set to get the additional charge of Bihar.

A communiqué was issued from Rashtrapati Bhavan in this regard this afternoon. “The President of India has been pleased to appoint Keshari Nath Tripathi, governor of Bengal, to discharge the functions of governor of Bihar, in addition to his own duties, until regular arrangements for the office of the governor of Bihar is made.”

Governor D.Y. Patil would complete his tenure on November 26.”

A Raj Bhavan official in Calcutta said tonight that no official communication had reached them yet about Tripathi holding additional charge as Bihar governor. “However, we are expecting an official communication on this matter in a day or two. In that case, our governor will have to go to Bihar to be sworn in to hold his additional charge as governor of Bihar,” he said.

Tripathi, who took charge of Bengal this July, would be the second senior BJP leader having RSS background to assume the office of Bihar Raj Bhavan after Sunder Singh Bhandari.

Bhandari was appointed the governor of the state during the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in April 1998. He had served the office till March 1999.

The RJD regime then, especially Lalu Prasad, had protested against Bhandari’s appointment because of his Sangh background. Lalu had claimed that Raj Bhavan was becoming a centre of conspiracy and the man occupying the building should stop acting as an RSS agent.

Later, Bhandari was made the governor of Gujarat.

Like Bhandari, octogenarian Tripathi also has RSS background and has been the Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Assembly thrice between 1991 and 2004. Tripathi assumed the office of Bengal Raj Bhavan from Bihar governor Patil who was asked to look after Bengal following the resignation of M.K. Narayanan on June 30, who was questioned by the CBI on Augusta Westland helicopter purchase.

Governor Patil, whose term is set to complete on November 26, gave consent to many important bills that were pending at Raj Bhavan for long. It was Patil who constituted the search committee for the selection of vice-chancellors (VCs) and pro-vice-chancellors. Based on the recommendations of the search committee, Patil on January 30 appointed 10 VCs and pro-VCs, including Patna University VC Y.C. Simhadri.

A vice-chancellor of a university told The Telegraph on condition of anonymity: “During Patil’s tenure, bills pertaining to private university and appointment of teachers at universities were passed.”

Raj Bhavan last year gave its nod to the Bihar State Universities Amendment Act, 2013, pertaining to the appointment of teachers in universities and colleges. The state government started the process of teachers’ appointment through Bihar Public Service Commission this September after a gap of 11 years.

After Patil’s consent to the Private University Bill, Amity Global Business School was issued the letter of intent to set up its campus in Bihta, around 35km from Patna.