Sheila Dikshit quits as Centre names 4 governors

NEW DELHI: In what seems like a plot straight out of a family pot-boiler, doting dads Lalji Tandon and V K Malhotra, both veteran BJP politicians, may have stepped aside to give a push to the political career of their respective sons.
The two politicians Lalji Tandon and V K Malhotra, presumed frontrunners for governorship until recently, did not figure in the latest round of gubernatorial appointments, which coincided with Kerala governor Sheila Dikshit's resignation.Apart from former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh whose appointment in Rajasthan was on expected lines, others named as governors are relatively low-profile BJP leaders who were rewarded for putting in years of service to the party. Vidya Sagar Rao, minister of state in Vajpayee government, has been named as Maharashtra governor, Gujarat assembly Speaker Vajubhai Vala who will be in charge of Karnataka and former BJP Mahila Morcha president Mridula Sinha who goes to Goa Raj Bhavan.
READ ALSO: Former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh made Rajasthan governor
Sources indicated that Tandon and Malhotra, who had been lobbying for assembly tickets for their son Gopal Tandon and Ajay Malhotra respectively, may have finally agreed to sacrifice their own political career for the sake of a promising launch of their sons. While Gopal Tandon has got a ticket for the Lucknow East assembly seat for the September 13 UP bypoll, sources indicated that Ajay Malhtotra, who unsuccessfully contested Delhi assembly election in November last year, may also be taken care of.
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BJP circles suspect that Tandon and Malhotra’s decision to step aside for their sons may not have been completely voluntary, given that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reluctance to offer positions to two members of the same family. The recent exclusion of Varun Gandhi from party’s list of office bearers has been attributed to his mother Maneka Gandhi being the Union minister for women and child development.
With the formula now ruling out Tandon and Malhotra, the Presidential communiqué on Tuesday included three unexpected names as governors. Vidyasagar Rao, who is headed for poll-bound Maharashtra, has represented Karimnagar in present-day Telangana in the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha. Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala has served several stints as finance minister in the Gujarat government. He was elected Speaker of the Gujarat assembly in 2013.
Mridula Sinha, who belongs to Bihar, has also has served as chairperson of Central Board of Social Welfare besides heading the party’s women’s wing.

Meanwhile, Kerala governor Shiela Dishit, who was on Monday persuaded by Union home minister Rajnath Singh to step down, has finally taken the hint and resigned. Claiming that she resigned on Monday, Dikshit said, "I did what my heart said I should do."
READ ALSO: 'Punishment posting' may land Sheila Dikshit in Nagaland
Appointed as Kerala governor in March this year just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and months after losing power in Delhi, Dikshit is the eighth UPA-appointed governor to step down since the Modi government took charge in May. The other governors who quit after being nudged were B L Joshi (UP), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh), M K Narayanan (West Bengal), B V Wanchoo (Goa), Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland), V Purushothaman (Mizoram) and K Sankaranarayanan (Maharashtra).
The government had sacked Kamla Beniwal, who had a running battle with Narendra Modi when he was Gujarat CM, after shifting her from Gujarat to Mizoram and Puducherry LG Virendra Kataria.