New Delhi: The fate of Meghalaya Governor KK Paul and others who were appointed by the Congress-led UPA government hangs in balance with the BJP-led NDA assuming charge in New Delhi on Monday.
More than ten Governors, including Vakkom Purushothaman (Mizoram), Lt. General (retd) Nirbhay Sharma (Arunachal Pradesh) and Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland) may also come under the scrutiny of the new government.
Moreover, the fate of HR Bhardwaj (Karnataka), Shivraj V Patil (Punjab), Syed Ahmed (Jharkhand) and Shekhar Dutta (Chhattisgarh), hangs in balance as they were appointed by the outgoing UPA government with indications that the new dispensation may politely ask them to vacate the Raj Bhavans.
Officials said the Narendra Modi government, which will take charge on Monday, is unlikely to go for wholesale sacking of the Governors but there is every possibility that some of them may be politely asked to put in papers to pave way for new appointments.
“It is quite normal for a new government to ask some of the occupants of Raj Bhavans to resign as their scheme of things may not suit those holding the high constitutional posts,” an official said.
Among the Governors, HR Bhardwaj (Karnataka), Jagannath Pahadiya (Haryana), Devanand Konwar (Tripura) and Margaret Alva (Rajasthan) will complete their full five-year term in the next three-four months.
While Bhardwaj had a strained relationship with the previous BJP government in Karnataka, Alva reportedly shares cordial relations with Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Those who will complete their tenure in six to eight months include Kamla Beniwal (Gujarat), MK Narayanan (West Bengal), JB Patnaik (Assam), Shivraj V Patil (Punjab) and Urmila Singh (Himachal Pradesh). Beniwal’s spat with the Modi government in Gujarat over appointment of Lokayukta in the State is well known.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was appointed as Kerala Governor in March this year; Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra was given a second term in April, 2013 and former Home Secretary VK Duggal was appointed as Governor of Manipur in December, 2013.
Other Governors who may come under review of the new NDA government are BL Joshi (serving his second term in Uttar Pradesh), BV Wanchoo (Goa), K Sankaranarayanan (who is serving his second term in Maharashtra), K Rosaiah (Tamil Nadu), Ram Naresh Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), DY Patil (Bihar), Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil (Sikkim) and Aziz Quereshi (Uttarakhand). (PTI)