BHOPAL: Governor Lalji Tandon’s nod to order for holding indirect election of mayors and chairmen of Nagar Palikas and Nagar Parishads has rattled the BJP in the state.
After meeting Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Tandon signed the order on the day of Dussehra which was a holiday, though.
The BJP was protesting against the order, and both former chief ministers, Uma Bharati and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, met the Governor and condemned the order.
After their meeting, Nath called on the Governor, and the efforts of both Bharati and Chouhan to stop the order fell through.
When the order was issued, All-India Mayors’ Association also handed a memorandum to the Governor against it.
BJP leaders expected that the Governor would seek an explanation from the government before signing the order.
There were indications from Raj Bhawan, too, that he might seek a clarification.
Congress’s Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha and forest minister Umang Singhar made some statements against the Governor. Despite that, the Governor signed the order without any delay.
Jolted by the Governor’s action, the BJP’s state president Rakesh Singh has called a meeting of the party office-bearers to discuss about the civic bodies’ election and delimitation of different areas on Thursday.
The BJP fears that after approving the order on civic polls, the Governor will approve the order to divide the Bhopal Municipal Corporation.
Party’s hopes for hearing dashed: Since the Congress is running the state government, the BJP expected that its leaders would get a hearing from the Governor, but, after his nod to the order on civic polls, all their hopes about it were dashed. When the Governor stopped the order, the BJP leader hoped that the process to conduct indirect election of the heads of civic bodies would stop. The Governor’s decision has, however, created a ridiculous situation for the party. As before becoming the Governor Lalji Tandon has been a senior leader of the BJP, the party leaders cannot say anything against him even after his signing of the order. The state BJP’s saying anything against him may enrage the central leadership of the party. Tandon has, however, increased problems for the party by signing the order.
