NEW DELHI: The Raj Bhavans in a few states are likely to see new faces. The Centre is likely to fill the positions for Madhya Pradesh and Goa, where the governors of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, Anandiben Patel and Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, respectively, are holding additional responsibility.
Karnataka and Jharkhand Governors Vajubhai Vala and Draupadi Murmu, respectively, are on extensions. Sources said the NDA dispensation at the Centre may weigh in the next year’s assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry for possible shuffling of incumbent governors in line with the BJP strategy to put assertive persons with political backgrounds in gubernatorial roles in Opposition-ruled states where the saffron outfit is keen to build bases in the coming years.
BJP heavyweights, including former party vice-presidents OP Mathur and Prabhat Jha, who were dropped from the party’s national office bearers’ team, besides former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, could be in the reckoning for the gubernatorial roles, sources said.
The Centre will take a look at the fate of Puducherry L-G Kiran Bedi, who will be completing her tenure. Sources said it may also take a close look at Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore, who will complete his tenure next year. With SAD’s exit friom the NDA, the state has become a challenge for the BJP. The Centre may consider a formidable tribal face from among the BJP ranks in Jharkhand.