New Delhi: For decades, state governments have often faced governors as stubborn hurdles in administrative matters. In many states, governors recommended dismissal of governments, in some other states, the governor would sit on files for months, ponder over bills passed by the assembly indefinitely. In recent years, tussles between elected governments and the Raj Bhavan seemed to have increased.

A number of non-BJP governments had no other option but to knock the doors of the Supreme Court to complain against the long delays in clearing legislations passed in assembly. Some governments have, such as Arvind Kejriwal’s government in Delhi, approached the SC against the overreach of the Lt. governor of the national capital. Judicial remedies have been prescribed come from time to time, but the conflict between the governor—a representative of the President of India to a state—and elected governments have continued.

DMK promises to curb governor’s power

Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) upped its ante against Governor RN Ravi in its Lok Sabha manifesto, which said, chief ministers would have a say in the appointment of governors and restricting the latter’s powers—a move that points to the country’s fraying federal fabric.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/dmk-manifesto-says-party-will-clip-governor-s-powers-101710961254010.html

The promises related to gubernatorial office come against the backdrop of the DMK government’s frequent run-ins with governor Ravi.

The Tamil Nadu government’s battle with Ravi, which has reached the Supreme Court, mirrors the experience of some other states governed by parties opposed to the BJP, such as Kerala, Telangana, West Bengal and Delhi. In the latest episode of its ongoing fight with Ravi, the Tamil Nadu government approached the Supreme Court on Monday against Ravi’s stubborn refusal to swear in K Ponmudi as minister after the court suspended the DMK leader’s conviction in a disproportionate assets case.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/tamil-nadu-guv-refuses-to-swear-in-ponmudi-as-minister-101710703228595.html

Meanwhile, DMK has also released its first list of 21 names. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/tamil-nadu-dmk-releases-first-list-of-21-names-for-lok-sabha-polls-101710961006825.html

Pappu Yadav, a 5 times MP, joins Congress

Weeks before the first round of polling, the Congress party got a boost on Wednesday as three senior Opposition leaders including former Lok Sabha MP Pappu Yadav joined the party. A five-term MP from Bihar, Yadav, also known as Rajesh Ranjan, ran Jan Adhikar Party before he merged his outfit with the Congress on Wednesday. Yadav, had won the 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th and 16th Lok Sabha from Madhepura in a rare feat for a lawmaker of a small party.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pappu-yadav-danish-ali-among-3-to-join-congress-ahead-of-polls-101710989702105.html

Yadav was active in Parliament : Lok Sabha records show Yadav participating in 263 debates in the 16th Lok Sabha. He also had 78 special mentions, 26 private members bill and regularly attended the session.

Yadav is expected to fight on a Congress ticket in the coming polls.

Along with Yadav, Danish Ali, a suspended Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP, also joined the Congress and is expected to fight from his current seat Amroha.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/lucknow-news/danish-ali-joins-congress-likely-to-be-its-pick-in-amroha-101710958968614.html

Praniti Shinde to fight on Congress ticket

The Congress’ Central Election Committee (CEC) approved ten candidates in Maharashtra including former Union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde’s daughter Praniti Shinde and seven contestants each in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/congress-body-clears-10-names-for-maharashtra-7-each-for-raj-guj-101710990002279.html

In its fourth meeting here on Wednesday, the CEC discussed its electoral strategy in the three states—Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. So far, the party has only declared 82 candidates across 13 states and two UTs. But the Congress is yet to declare the names approved in its third and fourth CEC meetings.

Apart from Shinde, whose father has been a Gandhi family loyalist, the Congress’ apex poll panel has also cleared Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, from Kolhapur. The Congress’ Daryapur MLA Balwant Wankhede is set to be fielded from Amaravati.

In Rajasthan, the poll panel has approved the candidature of Sunil Sharma from Jaipur city. Sharma, who lost from Kisan Pole seat in the 2023 assembly poll, is a Congress leader Sachin Pilot loyalist. Similarly, the party has approved its Anupgarh MLA Kuldeep Indora as the candidate for Ganganagar seat.

But in Himachal Pradesh, a few Congress leaders seemed to be apprehensive about fighting polls. Late chief minister Birbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha Singh has announced she won’t fight the polls.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/ground-not-favourable-pratibha-declines-to-contest-lok-sabhapolls-101710956563914.html

“I have toured the state extensively and found that no worker is active and in such a situation, it is difficult to achieve success,” she told reporters in Shimla.