Maharashtra governor plans to resign; re-enter to active politics

Maharashtra governor and former chief minister of Karnataka S M Krishna announced on Wednesday his deliberate plan to submit his resignation as the state’s governor to the President Pratibha Patil.

The decision to resign was taken after consultation with Party High Command who cleared the veteran Congress leader’s way to return to active politics in Karnataka and revive party’s fortune there. However, he was waiting for the formal green signal from the Party’s president Sonia Gandhi.

It is not clear yet what Krishna’s role would be after his return to state’s politics, but his return to active politics in his home state, as party thinks would have a deep impact on state’s affairs because of his clean and elegant image among the electorates.

The move of sending Krishna to Karnataka was taken into haste after a full bench of the Election Commission met senior political leaders of the state to assess the situation whether compatible for holding assembly elections in May or not.

As per the sources there was a strong possibility that the elections in Karnataka could be held in May and so he was expected to resign.

The political analysts believe that former chief minister’s comeback to his state was viewing by Congress central leadership as an attempt to revive the party’s fortune in the state and to get an edge over the dominant JD(S) in the state.

His comeback to home state also holds significance considering Lok Sabha elections, which is scheduled to take place in May 2008.

On Tuesday, speculation was rife in political circles in the State capital following an unexpected meeting between Maharashtra Governor S.M. Krishna and Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur.

Krishna also met with Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy in Bangalore yesterday evening and discussed over the expecting date by which assembly elections could be held in the state.

He was planned to return Mumbai from Bangalore on Tuesday when he was asked to alter his plans and fly to Delhi instead as informed by the sources. The move indicated the seriousness with which the party was treating the likelihood of the Election Commission changing its mind over polls in the state.

Krishna had earlier planned to stay in Mumbai this month in view of the budget of Maharashtra government with the Assembly’s budget session beginning on March 10 and move to Bangalore either in the last week of the month or early April.

S M Krishna ruled as a chief minister of the southern state of Karnataka from October 1999 to May 2004.

He left Karnataka politics after the 2004 Assembly elections. The Congress would hope that the presence of the former Karnataka chief minister would enhance the party's winning chances in the forthcoming assembly elections.

Karnataka has been under Governor’s Rule since November 2007 and constitutionally, elections are due to be held by May 2008.