With nine gubernatorial positions falling vacant in quick succession, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government is learnt to be fast-tracking the process of appointment of a new set of Governors in Raj Bhavans.
The Union Home Ministry is believed to have finalised names of three senior BJP leaders — Ram Naik, Kesri Nath Tripathi and Balramji Dass Tandon — and sent the file to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for approval.
Though some other names are doing the rounds for the gubernatorial posts — Lalji Tandon from Uttar Pradesh, Kailash Joshi from Madhya Pradesh, V.K. Malhotra from Delhi, O. Rajagopal from Kerala and eminent jurist Soli Sorabjee, who served as the Attorney-General during previous NDA rule — sources said these could be cleared in the second instalment.
After the NDA government nudged several UPA-appointed Governors to quit in the wake of the change of government at the Centre, some resigned while others continue to hold on to their positions. In a first tough action, Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Virender Kataria, a senior Congress leader who had assumed office last year, was dismissed last week.
First to resign were Governors of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — B.L. Joshi and Shekhar Dutt respectively — followed by Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar.
West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan and Goa Governor Bharat Vir Wanchoo put in their papers after they were questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation as witnesses in the AgustaWestland chopper deal. The five-year tenure of Karnataka and Tripura Governors — H.R. Bhardwaj and Devanand Konwar respectively — got over last month while Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman, who was shifted to Nagaland for the rest of his term, also quit expressing his displeasure over the manner in which the new government treated the Governors.
