Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan, who is presently holding additional charge of Telangana and also Puducherry after resignation of Governor Dr Tamilsai Soundarajan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls, is said to be lobbying for a shift to Telugu states as a full-time Governor.
According to media speculations, he is showing interest to be Governor of one among two Telugu states, as he originally hails from neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Though he was a senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, unlike other Governors from that party, maintaining cordial relations with opposition parties.
In Jharkhand the JMM and Congress alliance is in power, but it has never had any dispute with those parties, though the ruling coalition was locked up in crisis in recent times with the arrest of Chief Minister Hemant Soren by ED in a PMLA case.
Likewise being in-charge governor of Telangana also he has been maintaining cordial relations with the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government. Last week after the chief minister had a two-hours meeting with him, he had cleared several pending bills, that were kept abeyance by previous governor Dr Tamilsai Soundarajan, during KCR regime.
Many in the political arena are wondering about the recent unusual meeting of Radhakrishnan with Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, by visiting the latter’s residence in Undavalli. In normal discourse, governor’s never visit a chief ministers at their residences.
This has led to speculations that he is showing interest in becoming chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. As Chandrababu is a key supporter presently to Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the center, many suspect that he met him seeking his `approval’. It is felt that in the present political scenario, the Prime Minister may not choose to appoint any one as AP Governor without consent from Naidu.
However, Andhra Pradesh’s Governor Justice Syed Abdul Nazir, a retired Supreme Court judge was taken charge only in February, 2023. He has another four years of term. He is also close to BJP leadership and hails from Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the term of the governors of six states is coming to an end in a few months. They include Haryana’s Bandaru Dattatreya. This is likely to lead to reshuffle of many governors.