The appointment of 77-year-old Bhanwarilal Purohit as Governor of Tamil Nadu gains significance, since his role is speculated to be crucial considering the political uncertainity in the State. This, despite the fact that the ruling party has been elected with a significant majority in the Assembly elections of 2016.
The political turmoil within the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), following the demise of its leader J Jayalalithaa in December, 2016, has prompted acting governor C Vidyasagar Rao to fly down from Maharashtra to the state quite often. On several occasions, the absence or the lack of action on the part of the Acting Governor has been a bone of contention for the Opposition party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and even rival groups within the ruling party.
The appointment of Purohit, a political leader from Maharashtra's Vidarbha district, with his past experience with Congress and the present political affiliation with RSS and Bharatiya Janata Party, is expected to play a key role in Tamil Nadu politics in the days to come. His role is seen as crucial given the huge possibility of a floor test involving rival factions of the ruling AIADMK.
Purohit joined the BJP after being ousted by the Congress in 1991 for taking part in Kar Seva. He came back to the Congress a few years later and subsequently launched his own party, according to reports. He returned to BJP almost eight years ago. He is also the managing editor of English daily Hitavada, added reports.
In Tamil Nadu, his first test would be to take a decision on a trust vote, provided the issues under consideration of the High Court, including that of the Speaker's action of disqualifying 18 MLAs from the ruling party for protesting against the Chief Minister, are resolved. The Dhinakaran faction, which claims support of over 20 MLAs, has been alleging that the Acting Governor has been delaying the decision on the floor test.
If the ruling party isn't able to prove its majority in the floor test, again the decision of the Governor would be crucial, as placing a BJP member in the Raj Bhavan may help the saffron party influence a thing or two to its advantage, say political analysts.
Tamil Nadu is getting a full-time Governor after more than a year. The previous full-time Governor, K Rosaiah, was in office till August 2016-end.