Dynasty drama: BJP leaders give up governor posts to push political careers of sons?

Modi’s distaste for dynasty politics seems to have led to led to some brave tales of heroic political sacrifice by BJP leaders, to ensure that their legacies continue.

A  report in The Times of India suggested, senior BJP leaders Lalji Tandon and VK Malhotra might have sacrificed their dreams of becoming governors for the good of the political careers of their sons.

According to the report:

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.  

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 report mentioned as a result, that the BJP leaders chosen for the governor posts of Maharashtra and Karnataka were relatively low-profile leaders. C Vidyasagar Rao, a minister of state in the Vajpayee government, was chosen as the Maharashtra governor and Gujarat assembly Speaker Vajubhai Vala was chosen as Karnataka governor.

Meanwhile, Tandon and Malhotra’s sacrifices look as though they have paid off.

Tandon’s son Gopal was chosen for the Lucknow East assembly seat for the 13 September UP bypoll and Malhotra’s son Ajay, who had earlier unsuccessfully contested Delhi assembly elections, was also being looked after by the party.

These events come to light as yet another UPA appointed Governor Sheila Dikshit resigned on Tuesday as the Narendra Modi government named former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh as the nominee for Rajasthan along with three others for Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa.

Appointed in March on the eve of Lok Sabha elections, Sheila Dikhsit, who has been facing pressure, quit the post as Kerala Governor after her meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister on Monday.

Continuing with the filling up of vacancies caused by the sacking, resignation or retirements of incumbents appointed during the previous regime, the Government on Tuesday picked 82-year-old Singh for Rajasthan, where Margaret Alva completed her tenure earlier this month.

Vala was named for Karnataka where HR Bharadwaj had also completed his tenure recently.

Former Union Minister C Vidyasagar Rao will take the place of K Sankaranarayanan, who quit as Governor of Maharashtra on Sunday after he was shunted to Mizoram.

71-year Mridula Sinha, former President of BJP’s Mahila Morcha, was appointed as Governor of Goa in place of B V Wanchoo who was among those asked to quit after the change of guard at the Centre.

According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, 82-year-old Kalyan Singh will take over in Jaipur in the vacancy caused by the retirement of Margaret Alva earlier this month.

(With inputs from PTI)