The Congress-Mayawati war is poised to take an interesting turn with Gandhi family loyalist B.L. Joshi taking over as the new governor of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.
Soon after taking oath, 73-year-old Joshi told reporters that he would focus on "the development of the state". This is a subject Chief Minister Mayawati dislikes hearing from anybody other than herself. And this has been a reason behind her tussle with Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
Joshi also indicated that he would be in touch with the aam aadmi. His predecessor T.V. Rajeswar was often accused by the Congress of going soft on the Mayawati government.
The doors of Raj Bhawan used to be mostly closed for Congress leaders during his tenure. But the new governor said, "Although there are constitutional barriers for a governor, my doors would be open." The Mayawati government is not likely to be amused by the announcements of the new governor, whose appointment comes at a time when the Congress, especially Rahul, has already started preparing for the 2012 Assembly elections.
Mayawati welcomed the new governor at the Amausi airport and was present during his oath-taking ceremony. But she is not going to remain silent if Joshi starts meeting Congress leaders and talks development issues with them.
The governor, however, dismissed the suggestions of a possible conflict with the CM. "There will not be any conflict if both Raj Bhawan and the state government have development as their priority," he said.
An IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre, Joshi was made Delhi's lieutenant-governor in 2004 when the Congress returned to power at the Centre. Before his Lucknow assignment, he was the governor of Uttarakhand.
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