CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh could be the next Governor of Maharashtra replacing Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Sources close to the ex-Patiala royalty said talks are going on, though nothing concrete has emerged. “It may happen soon or anytime after the Budget session of Parliament. If not Maharashtra, then he might become the governor of West Bengal or Tamil Nadu, as there their might be a reshuffle,’’ said an insider.
Earlier too there were rumours about Amarinder being appointed Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir or the Vice President. Singh who has served as Punjab Chief Minister for almost two terms – first from 2002 to 2007 and then from 2017 till he was unceremoniously removed from the post just months before the Punjab Assembly elections early last year. He resigned from the Congress in October 2021 and later formed his own political party, the Punjab Lok Congress which he later merged with the BJP when he joined the saffron party in September last year.
Meanwhile, Koshyari who took over as the Maharashtra governor in September 2019, has expressed his desire to step down. He reportedly told the PM as much during the latter’s visit to Mumbai recently.
Koshyari had also conveyed to the PM that he should be discharged of all his responsibilities as he wants to spend the remainder of his life in “reading, writing, and such activities.”
The Maharashtra governor, who once also served as chief minister of Uttarakhand, had faced major controversies and calls by the Opposition parties in Maharashtra to resign, has drawn the flak of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi – which has often demanded his resignation and has raised the criticism for disrespecting the state’s icons and for distorting history.