At long last, after a three-year stint as an interim Governor, K. Kailashnathan will be the full-time Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry—affectionately called KK in the civil service—and better known as Prime Minister Modi’s “eyes and ears” in Gujarat. His “eyes and ears” in Gujarat for PM Modi.
However, BJP sees former chief secretary to CM of Gujarat is the best man for the job. Basically making sure that voyage of AINRC-BJP Alliance Government of Puducherry does not run into any glitch.
The NDA regime at power requires a taskmaster devoted to the saffron party who can serve as eyes and ears on ground in Puducherry. This is because they lost their only LS seat from Puducherry and have growing differences with some key allies within its fold apart from being headless following the defection led by All India Revolutionary Party (AIAJ) plus Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Nevertheless, KK 72 had no walkover since taking office following his stint as ‘super CM’ during his tenure in Gujrat due to multiple challenges facing this area.
Firstly, its main ally AINRC must be fought hard against especially after BJP’s defeat in LS polls. Though governing, it could not take seats meant for Members of Parliament away from Congress party.
When congress ruled UT there were frequent clashes between Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry and elected government just like it happened with national capital Delhi.
Clashes between lieutenant governors Kiran Bedi The Narayanasamy-led Congress government reached the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court. However things calmed down after Congress lost power while Bedia was sacked on February 2021.
After this came Tamilisai Soundararajan who served as LG until she was succeeded by Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan. However, when Tamilisai resigned to contest the 2024 Assembly elections, Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan replaced her.
However, Puducherry poses a challenge for BJP. Increasing violence against girls including drug epidemic and decision to open more bars and restaurants has tarnished the image of this government which is essentially run by BJP-BJP.
“The people of Puducherry are the ultimate sufferers at the end of day; they have become pawns in the politics between Union Government and Union Territory. Puducherry is neither a producer nor a consumer. It is disappointing that Centre thinks it knows what is good for Cherry as far as Puducherry is concerned. The position of Lieutenant Governor is constitutional and therefore whoever holds it should not go with his or her ideology.
Therefore, perhaps with KK in place, BJP will strongly be able to gain strong foothold and command control over Puducherry’s problems better than before.
