Four prominent Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were yesterday named governors of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa on a day Kerala Governor Sheila Dikshit succumbed to pressure and resigned.
While former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh was named governor of Rajasthan, Gujarat assembly speaker Vajubhai Radabhai Vala took charge of Karnataka and Mridula Sinha, a leading writer, moved to Goa.
C Vidyasagar Rao from Telangana will take charge in election-bound Maharashtra.
Kalyan Singh succeeds Margaret Alva whose term ended on August 5.
Vala took the place of H R Bharadwaj, who retired in June, while B V Wanchoo and K Sankaranarayanan quit as governors of Goa and Maharashtra respectively.
The 82-year-old Kalyan Singh is a veteran BJP leader who led the Uttar Pradesh government when the Babri Masjid was razed in 1992.
A committed activist of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Kalyan Singh, belonging to the backward Lodh caste, left the BJP for the first time in December 1999 following differences with former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Before the Lok Sabha election of 2009, he again left the BJP and joined forces with the Samajwadi Party. He contested from Etah as an independent and won.
In the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha battle, he buried his differences with then party president Rajnath Singh and returned to the BJP yet again. His son Rajver Singh was given a BJP ticket from Etah.
A few days ago Kalyan Singh said BJP president Amit Shah had called him up with the proposal of governorship of Rajasthan.
“I have accepted the post and am happy that I will be going to Rajasthan as governor,” he said.
Vala, 76, is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He began his political career with the erstwhile Jana Sangh. At one time, he was a contender for the post of Gujarat chief minister.
Mridula Sinha is a well known writer in Hindi, and is a former national president of the BJP’s women’s wing Mahila Morcha. She is also a former chairperson of the National Commission for Women.
Sinha said she is excited about taking up the new challenge and is keen to serve the people of the state.
“It feels good to be part of governance,” Sinha said.
She said she will advise the state government wherever required.
She added that her aim is to serve the people of Goa and ensure good governance in the state.
“I am already involved in many social activities, so the party (BJP) has given me an opportunity to work for the people,” she said.
Hailing from Karimnagar district of Telangana, Vidyasagar Rao served as minister of state for home in the Vajpayee government.
The 73-year-old was also the BJP president in the united Andhra Pradesh and was elected to the Lok Sabha twice from Karimnagar. He was defeated in the 2014 election.
Suave and soft-spoken, Rao played an active role in the movement for a separate Telangana state.
Meanwhile, Dikshit, who resigned as Kerala governor, refused to say anything on what led her to the decision.
“I did what my heart was saying. I will not say anything more at this point,” the former Delhi chief minister said.
Asked to comment on the manner in which Congress-appointed governors were treated by the BJP-led government, Dikshit said: “I will talk to you in hindsight after my resignation is accepted.”
Maharashtra Governor Sankaranarayanan resigned on Monday.
Since the Modi government took charge on May 26, eight governors have resigned - B L Joshi (Uttar Pradesh), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh), Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland), M K Narayanan (West Bengal), Wanchoo (Goa), Vakkom B Purushothaman (Mizoram), Sankaranarayanan (Maharashtra) and now Dikshit.
Kamla Beniwal was first shunted out from Gujarat to Mizoram and then sacked on August 6 for misuse of her position as governor.
Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva and Karnataka Governor H R Bharadwaj managed to complete their terms.
Dikshit: quits as Kerala governor
