Maharashtra governor resigns

BJP stalwarts Murli Manohar Joshi, Kailash Joshi, V K Malhotra & Kalyan Singh front runners for post

Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan resigned on Sunday, following his transfer to Mizoram for the remaining tenure, which ends in 2017. Refusing to accept the transfer orders, he forwarded his resignation to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Gujarat Governor Om Prakash Kohli has been asked to discharge his duties till a replacement is found.

Sankaranarayanan said, “By resigning, I have respected the Constitution of India. From tomorrow, I will start working for the Congress.”

Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Murli Manohar Joshi, Kailash Joshi, V K Malhotra and Kalyan Singh are the front runners for the post.

Party sources told <I>Business Standard</I>: “Kailash Joshi is a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and a BJP MP, while Malhotra had been an MP and associated with sports bodies. Kalyan Singh has been a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. While Joshi and Malhotra have been with the BJP and are linked with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, Singh had left the party, only to rejoin later. Either of the three is expected to get the post.”

Sources said Sankaranarayanan was appointed by the United Progressive Alliance government and had refused to step down after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government took over.

A BJP leader said a party’s old guard’s appointment would be crucial when it is confident of ousting the 15-year-old Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government in the coming Assembly poll slated for October.

BJP unit chief Devendra Fadnavis termed Sankaranarayanan’s transfer as an “administrative matter”. However, the Congress and NCP slammed the Narendra Modi-led government for the manner in which Sankaranarayanan was transferred. They took strong objection to the issuance of the order in the wee hours of Sunday.

State Congress chief Manikrao Thakre said Sankaranarayanan during his tenure had discharged his duties as the Governor quite impartially and keeping the politics aside. NCP chief Sharad Pawar criticized the way transfer order was issued.

Sankaranarayanan in June had refused to resign saying that if an appropriate decision making authority asks him to quit he will definitely think over.

''Union home secretary Anil Goswami called me twice during last week asking to demit the office. I did not reply to him anything. My stand is that the Governor's post is a constitutional post. The Governor is a representative of the President of India. No responsible person has asked me anything in writing to relieve the post. There is no vacuum in the Governor's post,''  Sankaranarayanan had said.

Sankaranarayanan took over as the Maharashtra Governor on January 22, 2010 and he was re-appointed for five year term on May 7, 2012. He had also served as the Governor of Nagaland and Jharkhand. On August 27, 2011, he was given additional charge of Goa till BV Wanchoo was appointed on May 4, 2012.

Prior to his appointment as Governor, Sankaranarayanan had served as a Minister in several Congress led governments of Kerala headed by Chief Ministers AK Antony and K Karunakaran.