HYDERABAD: All good things have to come to an end. So does the term of Telangana Governor ESL Narasimhan.
But the question is will Dr Tamilisai Soudararajan, a BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, be able to fit the Telangana gubernatorial post.
She will be stepping into the shoes of a tough police officer who had served as the director of IB and was able to sail with mercurial K Chandrasekhar Rao, whose political whims are legendary in nature and N Chandrababu Naidu whose political craft is all too well known.
Though there are no law and order issues that require the skills of the likes of Narasimhan now, the TN BJP leader, however, would have to draw every ounce of resourcefulness from her repertoire of skills in facing KCR who is riled by the continuous ruffling of his feathers by the BJP that it was on course to occupy the gaddi in Telangana in 2018.
The former boss of Intelligence Bureau will be vacating the Raj Bhavan for Tamilisai, who is now Tamil Nadu BJP president.
Narasimhan had a dream run as the governor since 2007 when he was first appointed as governor of Chhattisgarh, then from 2009 as governor of AP and as governor of AP and Telangana from 2014 till recently when a new governor was appointed for the reorganised state of Andhra. Narasimhan has remained the most hated and most loved governor by both Chandrababu Naidu and KCR.
The shifting sands of time had changed the patterns in political kaleidoscope with the governor becoming friend and foe to the same person at different times. Till 2014, Telangana leaders hated Narasimhan suspecting him to be anti-Telangana and during which time, Naidu, who was in the Opposition, treated him as a great friend.
After Chandrababu Naidu broke up with the BJP in 2018, he turned against Narasimhan suspecting him to be acting at the behest of BJP to corner him.
On the other side of the divide, KCR moved closer to ESL and the latter had even read purple prose, describing KCR as Kaleswaram Chandrasekhar Rao after visiting Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) when it was under construction.
In recent times, it appeared KCR was suspecting ESL of taking the sides of the BJP honchos in Delhi. Tamilisai has served BJP in Tamil Nadu for quite a long time but she would have to summon all her strength to deal with KCR. She began her career in BJP as secretary of party in South Chennai District Medical unit in 1999 and rose to become Tamil Nadu BJP chief in 2014.
Tamilisai, a doctor by profession, has Congress background. She is daughter of Congress leader Kumari Ananthan. After joining the BJP more than two decades ago, she became a star campaigner for the party in 2014.
Liked by all leaders Another development that has warmed the cockles of Telangana BJP leaders is the appointment of former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya as governor of Himachal Pradesh. He will be stepping into the shoes of Kalraj Mishra, who has been transferred to Rajasthan.
Proving the critics wrong that Dattatreya had fallen from grace, the BJP leadership gave him another lease of life.
Soft-spoken and affable, Dattatreya is liked by leaders of all hues for his simplicity. Unassuming, he is always on the call for anyone who needed help in any emergency. His annual Alai Balai programmes during navaratri are awaited by all those in the entire political spectrum.
Like Narasimhan, Maharsashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagara Rao too would be making way for his successor. Rao’s appointment as governor of Maharashtra came as heartening news in 2014 for Telangana and for the people of Karimnagar as he is one of the most popular BJP leaders in the State.
In fact he contested Lok Sabha elections from Karimnagar but lost to TRS leader B Vinod. As he has rapport with prime minister Narendra Modi, he could land the plum post of the governor of Maharashtra.
Now that age is on his wrong side, it is said he has gently been eased out. Narasimhan, however, might find it difficult to leave Hyderabad as, for him, it has become more or less a home away from home.
He and his spouse Vimala are quite popular with the people of Telangana for their penchant to mix with them on every social or festival occasion.