Centre may wait for more UPA-appointed guvs to quit

The Centre is likely to defer naming successors of governors who have quit or whose tenure ends this month as it expects more UPA appointees in Raj Bhavan to resign next month. The government wants to carry out the exercise in bulk.

The tenure of Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj and his Tripura counterpart Devanand Konwar will end on Saturday and temporary arrangements have been made by giving additional charge to the governors of the neighbouring states.

President Pranab Mukherjee has signed the file assigning Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah the charge of Karnataka until further arrangements are made while Mizoram’s Vakkom Purushottaman will look after Tripura.

With the President accepting the resignation of Nagaland Governor Ashwini Kumar, Meghalaya Governor K K Paul has been asked to look after the north-east state.

After being prodded by the Centre, three Governors — B L Joshi (Uttar Pradesh), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh) and Ashwini Kumar — had quit recently.

Sources said West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan and Goa’s B V Wanchoo have indicated their willingness to quit once the government asks them. The government appears to be weighing its options carefully before going ahead with appointments.

Veteran BJP leaders O Rajagopal and Prof V K Malhotra are being considered for the post of Karnataka Governor.

The names of Kalyan Singh and Lalji Tandon are doing the rounds for the post in other states. The delay in the selection process is also due to the BJP not being able to finalise the names of leaders who could be inducted into the Council of Ministers.

The exercise is not likely to be completed before the Budget Session as senior BJP leaders are focussed on formulating the Budget, which is expected to lay the road map for economic revival.