Raj Bhavan tales: Jagan-Harichandan bonhomie vs KCR-Tamilisai feud

The pitched battle between Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan is among the most dramatic government-governor rows that non-BJP ruled states have experienced in recent times. 

In contrast, the relationship of the government of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh with Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan has been rather cordial, raising eyebrows over a possible quid pro quo arrangement between the Centre and the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy regime.

KCR-Tamilisai row

In Telangana, while the KCR government has accused Tamilisai of sitting on cabinet-approved bills, the clearance of bills in Andhra Pradesh has been smooth and completely hassle-free.

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Ever since Tamilisai was appointed Governor after the general election in 2019, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government in the state has found cause to complain about her style of functioning. Soon after taking charge, she expressed her intent to launch ‘Praja Darbhars’ (public courts), a move that was dubbed by the ruling party as one aimed to run a parallel government. 

Tamilisai also launched a ‘grievances box’ at the Raj Bhavan to help people air their grievances over the functioning of the KCR government. The move was in sync with the BJP’s charge that KCR was following in the footsteps of the erstwhile Nizams in being inaccessible to commoners.

KCR, on the other hand, has accused Tamilisai of acting as an agent of the Union government and subverting the people’s mandate with which his government is running.

The sparring reached its zenith recently when Tamilisai accused the TRS government of tapping her phones to implicate her in the alleged poaching of TRS MLAs by the BJP. She was earlier forced to drop her visit to the Utnoor agency area for want of cooperation from the state government.

‘Friendly Governor’ in Andhra

In contrast, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan has earned the moniker of “postman” for his role in clearing bills – even those of the most controversial nature — with haste and in a most casual manner.

Also read: Munugode poll result adds fuel to KCR-Tamilisai faceoff in Telangana

The controversial bills that received the Governor’s quick nod despite protests by the Opposition include one relating to the three capitals (the brainchild of Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy), the scrapping of the legislative council, and sacking of State Election Commissioner N Ramesh Kumar. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the principal opposition party, accused Harichandan of acting like a “rubber stamp” for the Jagan government and approving the bills without applying his mind.

The Raj Bhavan in Telangana offers a contrasting picture with Governor Tamilisai sitting over at least eight bills, six of them seeking amendments to existing acts, since September. Earlier, the government sent a file to the Governor for nomination of Padi Kaushik Reddy as an MLC. But it was turned down, much to KCR’s chagrin.

Also read: Tamilisai & Kumudben: Identical tale of two controversial governors

Political analysts say the governors, most of them being former BJP leaders, are acting on the whims and fancies of the NDA government at the Centre, particularly in non-BJP ruled states. “The office of the governor has been used as a tool to trouble the parties in power which do not toe the NDA’s line,” said Palvai Raghavendra Reddy, a political analyst based in Hyderabad.

KCR a threat, Jagan not so much

Palvai said the BJP leadership views KCR as a threat, mostly after he changed his party’s name to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) from TRS, challenging the authority of Narendra Modi at the Centre. Tamilisai  was just following the Centre’s dictates, he added.

The treatment, however, is different towards the YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh.

The BJP’s preferential treatment was on display during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the two Telugu states. Modi shared a  bonhomie with Jagan at a rally in Visakhapatnam. In a rally in Hyderabad, on the other hand, he took a dig at the TRS government. 

On his part, KCR boycotted the PM’s Telangana visit for the third time though protocol warrants him to formally receive him.

Analysts say KCR, through such boycotts, is trying to forge an alliance with non-BJP opposition parties to challenge the NDA in the 2024 general elections. Even after the 2019 elections, he had spoken about floating a federal front as an alternative to the NDA.

On the other hand, Jagan, a prime accused in cases probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), is aware that rubbing the Centre the wrong way can be detrimental for him. He has hence been non-confrontational in his approach towards the NDA government and been rewarded for the same.

Also read: KCR seeks to unite opposition CMs embroiled in tiff with governors

Although KCR and Jagan were on the same page before the general elections in 2019, they later adopted different approaches vis-à-vis the NDA government.

Jagan rewarded with favours?

Jagan’s party unconditionally backed the BJP’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates even as KCR supported the Opposition’s candidates.

The dispute over the sharing of Krishna waters has also widened the gulf between KCR and Jagan. The Jagan government in Andhra Pradesh, in a bid to keep the Modi government in good humour, referred the dispute over the Telangana government’s proposals to build several irrigation projects on River Krishna to the Central Water Commission for resolution. But KCR cried foul and trained his guns on the Centre, resenting the latter’s intervention.

Tamilisai’s aggressive role in Telangana reflects the political ambitions of the BJP in the state, said EAS Sarma, a former bureaucrat with a stint as secretary in the Union Finance Ministry. “For BJP, Telangana matters more. Thus, Tamilisai, an active functionary of the BJP as president of its Tamil Nadu state unit in the past, was posted in KCR’s home state,” Sarma told The Federal.

Palvai said the governors in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana are functioning in line with the playbook of the BJP.

Also read: BJP’s big win in UP wakes up Jagan Reddy early for 2024 AP polls

Unlike KCR, Jagan is no threat to Modi’s leadership. Instead, the BJP hopes he will help the party in case it falls short of numbers in the 2024 general elections, said K Viyanna Rao, an analyst who served as former vice-chancellor of Nagarjuna University.

Governors are expected to be objective and uphold constitutional values by acting apolitically. But, in practice, they are working with political motives in several states, Rao added.

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