Nine states still have
Governors appointed by the UPA.
Some of them are completing
their terms this year and some the next year. And none of these states have a
BJP government. Yes, the party in alliance in two states - in Andhra Pradesh
(TDP) and in J&K (PDP) - but the Governors of both of these states are
retired bureaucrats and working with bureaucrats is always easy than with
politicians. They are always amenable to be co-opted.
Andhra Pradesh Governor
E.S.L. Narasimhan, who has the additional charge of Telangana, is completing
his term next year. He is a former IPS officer and IB Director. N.N. Vohra, who
is J&K's Governor since June 2008, is a former Union Home and Defence Secretary.
Tamil Nadu and Odisha have
strong non-BJP state governments with strong chief ministers and the BJP would
not like to have adventures here. K Rosaiah, a Congress man and the former
Andhra Pradesh chief minister, was appointed Tamil Nadu's Governor in August
2011 while S.C. Jamir, a former Congress
chief minister of Nagaland is Odisha's Governor since March 2013.
Ram Naresh Yadav, the
controversial Madhya Pradesh Governor, is an old Janata Party name though he
contested his last election on a Congress ticket. As a Janata Party MLA, he was
the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1977 to 1979.
K. K. Paul who was shifted
from Mizoram to Uttarakhand in January 2015, is again a UPA appointee. He was
appointed by the UPA Government as the Meghalaya Governor in July 2013. He is a
retired IPS officer and the former Delhi Police Commissioner.
Governors of Mizoram and
Sikkim, electorally unimportant states, have former Indian government officials
as their Governors. Mizoram's Nirbhay Sharma, who has been transferred from
Arunachal Pradesh, is a retired Indian Army official while Sikkim's Shriniwas
Patil, though an NCP MP, is a retired bureaucrat. Also, either BJP or any of
its ally is not in the office in these two peaceful north-east states don't
have governments.
They are either the BJP men
or have been efficiently co-opted by the BJP - as is the case with
non-political Governors appointed by the NDA - or even with the Governors
appointed by the UPA. They hold the office directly under the control of the
Union Government - willingly or unwillingly.
©SantoshChaubey