The analysis shows that over 50 per cent of the Constitutional posts are occupied by members of the Congress party or their allies. One should of course assume that after taking oath of office, the individualwould not indulge in any party activity thereafter and would remain non-partisan while discharging duties as Governor/ Lieutenant Governor. Yet, given the era of coalition politics where governments depend on the governor when calling for the Vote of Confidence, there is little guarantee that their decision would be considered impartial by all parties. There would always be doubts and allegations of working at the behest of some political party or the other.

The statistics raise another question. Does the party at the Centre always want a person from their party in charge at the state level as well? If not as head of Executive, then at least as Constitutional head of State? There is no guarantee that the BharatiyaJanata Partyor the Third Front will not repeat the phenomenon if it comes to power. It might just be time to review the procedure of selection of governors and stop making the Constitutional post a retirement job for politicians who are well past the expiry date of serving their political purpose.

The author can be contacted at anandwalu@gmail.com