UPA-III uncertainty has 18 Congress governors looking for the exits


Even before PM Manmohan Singh bid farewell to his staff in South Block on Tuesday, the Governors of Karnataka and Gujarat had reached out to the Congress high command expressing their desire to vacate Raj Bhavan, given the uncertainty over the UPA government's third term.



But Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj and his Gujarat counterpart Kamla Beniwal are not the only ones of their ilk to reach out to the party headquarters on 24, Akbar Road in New Delhi, Congress sources said.



Eighteen Congress appointed governors, especially the party oldtimers, are said to be waiting for the party leadership's directives in this regard. A change in the government at the Centre has left many of these senior Congress leaders worried about their future, the sources said.









Bhardwaj and Beniwal, who shared not-so-cordial ties with the B.S. Yeddyurappa and the Narendra Modi governments, are at the end of their terms.

Bhardwaj is due to retire on June 29, while Beniwal's gubernatorial tenure will come to end on November 27. The duo have allegedly been asked to wait for the 'next announcement' which will be made by the party brass after the Lok Sabha election results are out.



Eight governors have already completed more than four years of their tenure and are nearing the completion of their five-year term this year.



Besides Bhardwaj and Beniwal, the remaining six governors are Jagannath Pahadia (Haryana), Urmila Singh (Himachal Pradesh), Janaki Vallabh Patnayak (Assam), K. Sankaranarayanan (Maharashtra), B. L. Joshi (Uttar Pradesh) and Shivraj Patil (Punjab). Governors D.Y. Patil (Bihar), Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland) and S. C. Jamir (Orissa) have just completed one year of their tenure.



In such circumstances, the sources said, Kerala Governor Sheila Dixit and her Sikkim counterpart Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil, who have just completed 62 days and 296 days in offices respectively, will be in for a big loss if they are advised to step down.



Chances are the governors, who are of non-political background like Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland), will not face the same fate, sources said.



When reached out for their comments, the Congress leaders said the Governors cannot be compelled to quit as there is no legal binding on them to resign without the completion of their tenure.



"Article 156 of the Constitution clearly says that the Governor shall hold office at the pleasure of the President. It is a personal choice. The post of the Governor is a constitutional one and there is no law which compels them to quit without completing their tenure," Congress spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira said.





Winds of change in Maharashtra

By Ganesh N. in Mumbai

The exit polls' prediction of a non-Congress government coming to power at the Centre may be the talk of the town, but the Maharashtra Raj Bhavan is keeping mum on its future.



How long Governor K. Sanakaranarayanan will occupy his post will be clear only when the results are declared on May 16. However, the BJP camp in the state has already suggested that the state's Raj Bhavan will be witnessing a change.

BJP sources said Maharashtra will be important for Narendra Modi once he becomes the PM, and Modi would want his trusted aide at the helm of affairs in the state. Thus, Sankaranarayanan's replacement seems imminent if Modi's government comes to the Centre.



Besides being the neighbouring state of Modi's home state of Gujarat, Maharashtra is one of the states where the BJP has ruled (along with Shiv Sena) in the past but currently lacks a dominant saffron leadership.



"In Chhattishgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, there is clear BJP leadership in Raman Singh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje, respectively. In such states, Modi will have limited role to play. But, in Maharashtra, such a BJP leadership is lacking and Modi will eye to stretch his fiefdom beyond Gujarat and his man in Raj Bhavan will play a key role in achieving his goal," a senior BJP leader pointed out.

Tough days ahead for Bengal governor

By Soudhriti Bhabani in Kolkata

The completion of his tenure as the West Bengal Governor is still some time away, and so, it remains to be seen whether M.K. Narayanan's remaining days in the post will still be smooth if an NDA government comes to power. His tenure will come to an end on January 23, 2015.



The former national security adviser to the PM, he had assumed office on January 24, 2010, during the tenure of the Congress-led UPA II. Sources said Narayanan may not be interested in continuing in office on completion of his term.



"The term will end on scheduled time after completion of five years," said a Kolkata Raj Bhavan source.

Narayanan had remained closely connected with security related matters even after his retirement. During both UPA I and II, he was frequently consulted on security matters. He shares good relations with the UPA leadership, including PM Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.



BJP critic Bhardwaj may not seek a second term

By Vanu Dev in Bangalore

Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj, whose term is set to end next month, is unlikely to seek a second term in the state if an NDA government comes to power at the Centre.



Bhardwaj was appointed the Governor of Karnataka on June 25, 2009, and his tenure was marked by frequent run-ins with the then BJP government headed by B.S. Yeddyurappa. He had recommended the dissolution of the state Assembly twice, angering the central BJP leadership.



The governor had a tumultuous relationship with the BJP leadership, particularly Yeddyurappa and Bellary's Reddy brothers and B. Sriramulu.



H.R. Bhardwaj had frequent stand-offs with the erstwhile BJP government in Karnataka

Bhardwaj had pulled up the BJP government on several occasions on different issues, including ministerial appointments, corruption, office of profit and nepotism. He had a stormy relationship with most of the BJP leaders for the whole of the party's five-year-term, and this would work against him if he decided to seek a second term.



Apparently, the governor was keen on a second term in Karnataka. In the last two decades, there have been instances of governors getting reappointed for a second term in Karnataka.



Sources indicate that Bhardwaj was keen on seeking another term in Karnataka, but that's not the case any longer.

"There were such discussions earlier this year. But looking at the exit polls, he is unlikely to seek another term. It is just a matter of few days before the election results come out. He might rather prefer to complete his term than seek an extension," a source from Raj Bhavan said.



Senior Congress leaders, too, claimed that the party had directed the governors appointed by it to not to seek another term.

UPA's 2004 redux

Governors owing allegiance to the BJP and RSS faced the axe soon after the Congress-led UPA government came to power in 2004. Some of them were removed immediately, but others were allowed to take their own time to demit office.



Among those who relinquished charge soon after the change of government was Kedarnath Sahni, a strong BJP ideologue, who was the governor of Sikkim and Goa. Kailashpati Mishra, who was the Gujarat governor, was replaced by Balram Jakhar of the Congress. Vishnukant Shastri, a Sangh Parivar ideologue, was replaced as the governor of Uttar Pradesh in 2004.

Former Delhi CM Madan Lal Khurana was the governor of Rajasthan, but he chose to return to the capital in 2004. He resigned nearly five months after the UPA came to power. The same month, Rama Jois quit as the Bihar governor.



A BJP sympathiser from Karnataka, he had a controversial tenure. Another BJP leader Babu Parmanand, who was the Haryana governor in 2004, was also replaced.

The UPA government had claimed it was not gunning for the governors appointed by the NDA, but hoped that strong BJPRSS ideologues demit office on their own.

