Bhandari's exit from UP is imminent

High level political consultations are underway with the Congress insisting that Uttar Pradesh Governor Romesh Bhandari be moved from Lucknow.

Former UP governor Satyanarain Reddy, who is a staunch socialist and associate of Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, former textile minister G Venkataswamy, Rajasthan Governor Bali Ram Bhagat and Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiah are in the running for the governor's post in India's most populous state.

Speculation about a change in Lucknow's Raj Bhavan gained momentum after Congress leaders Sharad Pawar, Pranab Mukherjee and Jitendra Prasada met Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda in Parliament House on Wednesday.

According to informed sources, the trio insisted on Bhandari's removal if the United Front wanted the Congress's support to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party--sponsored motion, which will come up for discussion and voting in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Deve Gowda and the Congress leaders are understood to have come to an agreement that the UP governor will be changed after the Lok Sabha discussion.

The BJP motion demanded the governor's immediate recall and a detailed discussion on the alleged deterioration in the state's law and order situation during President's rule.

Moves are afoot by the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party to strike a deal for installation of a Mayawati-led government.

The state's law and order situation had come in for severe criticism after the home minister's remarks in the Lok Sabha late last month that UP was heading towards anarchy, chaos and destruction.

What caused controversy was the state administration's instant denunciation of the home minister's views, in a letter to the prime minister. Under the Constitution, state governors report to the Union home minister.