​Karnataka Governor takes centre stage​

He is credited with having presented a record 18 budgets in Gujarat as finance minister.

Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, 80, has been governor of Karnataka since September 2014 and his term will expire in the next couple of months unless it is extended. Before taking on the Constitutional post, Vala was a long-time member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its previous avatar, the Jana Sangh. Prior to being appointed governor, he was the speaker of the Gujarat assembly and is well versed in constitutional rules and regulations.

Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, 80, has been governor of Karnataka since September 2014 and his term will expire in the next couple of months unless it is extended.(HTPhotos)

During his decades as a politician, Vala held several portfolios in various BJP led governments in Gujarat.

He is credited with having presented a record 18 budgets in Gujarat as finance minister. One of the less well-known facts about Vala is that it was he who vacated his home constituency of Rajkot West to enable the then newly nominated CM of Gujarat, Narendara Modi, in 2002 to contest assembly polls for the first time.

Irrespective of his past association with the saffron party, Vala is seen as having played a low key and quiet role as governor of Karnataka.

He has worked now with three chief Ministers of the state during his current tenure including Siddaramaiah of the Congress, BS Yeddyurappaa, who was CM for two days before stepping down in May last year without facing a floor test in the assembly) of the BJP and now H D Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (S).

The role he plays in ensuring that constitutional procedures are duly followed in the denouement to the current crisis in Karnataka will be closely watched.