Thaawarchand Gehlot was appointed the governor of Karnataka on Tuesday and he relieved Vajubhai Vala from the office Vala held since September 1, 2014. Gehlot’s placement is part of eight gubernatorial appointments approved by President Ramnath Kovind.
“I extend my warm welcome to Shri Thawarchand Gehlot Ji as the new governor of Karnataka. The state will benefit from Gehlotji’s long experience in public life & commitment to social justice. I thank governor Shri Vajubhai Vala Ji for his contribution to Karnataka,” BS Yediyurappa, the chief minister said in a post on Twitter on Tuesday.
“Many congratulations to Union minister Shri. #ThawarchandGehlot for being appointed as [the] governor of Karnataka. I wish him success in the new role and hope he works earnestly to uphold the Constitutional values,” Siddaramaih, the Congress’ leader of the opposition in Karnataka said. He did not mention Vala.
“Congratulations to Sri @TCGehlot on being appointed as the Governor of Karnataka. My best wishes to the outgoing governor Sri Vajubhai Vala for his future endeavours,” DK Shivakumar, the state Congress president said in a post on Twitter.
Vala had taken over from K Rosaiah, the then governor of Tamil Nadu, who was given additional charge of Karnataka after H R Bhardwaj’s five-year tenure came to an end in June 2014.
{{/usCountry}}Vala had taken over from K Rosaiah, the then governor of Tamil Nadu, who was given additional charge of Karnataka after H R Bhardwaj’s five-year tenure came to an end in June 2014.
{{/usCountry}}Vala presided over a tumultuous period during which the state saw four chief ministers in a span of seven years.
Siddaramaiah was chief minister from 2013-18 when Vala took office. However, after the assembly elections, on May 17, 2018, Vala invited Yediyurappa and the Bharatiya Janata Party that had won 104 out of the 224 assembly seats to form the government since it was the single largest party despite it being short of the majority of 113. The invitation led to accusations of bias since the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress had already forged a formal alliance that gave them the majority. On top of this, Vala gave Yediyurappa 15 days to prove his majority despite the latter only seeking seven days.
The Congress and JD(S) took the matter to the Supreme Court and a three judge bench, in a midnight hearing, said the majority had to be proven by the evening of May 20.
Yediyurappa had to step down after just two days in power. Three days later on May 23, HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) was sworn in as chief minister after joining hands with the Congress.
In the 14 months that followed, the Karnataka Raj Bhavan’s role came under scrutiny for alleged political activities before the Cong-JD(S) coalition was nearly wiped out in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which gave the BJP an unprecedented 25 out of the 28 seats in the state.
Soon, mass resignations followed from within the coalition government amid allegations that Yediyurappa and the BJP were luring legislators from the Congress and JD(S) to defect to the party. Yediyurappa was finally sworn in as chief minister for a record fourth time on 26 July 2019.
Vala leaves at a time when Yediyurappa’s future as CM of the state is under constant challenge from dissenters within the state unit of the party.