Babus as guvs, Cong leaders unhappy

Congressmen are an unhappy lot. The Raj Bhavans, seen until now as a sinecure for aging or retiring politicians, are increasingly being handed to former bureaucrats or retired military or police officials, killing the chances of a growing queue of party aspirants.

Congressmen are an unhappy lot. The Raj Bhavans, seen until now as a sinecure for aging or retiring politicians, are increasingly being handed to former bureaucrats or retired military or police officials, killing the chances of a growing queue of party aspirants.

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Of the 28 governors, 10 are former officials: ESL Narasimhan (Andhra Pradesh), BL Joshi (Uttar Pradesh), MK Narayanan (West Bengal), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh), NN Vohra (J&K), SS Sidhu (Goa), Joginder Jaswant Singh (Arunachal Pradesh), Gurbachan Jagat (Manipur), RS Mooshahary (Meghalaya) and BP Singh (Sikkim).

The list of bureaucrat/officers-turned-governors has been growing during UPA-II, with many of them handpicked to preside over states where the Congress needs to increase or consolidate its base.