Hyderabad: Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, who was replaced on Sunday, has had the second longest tenure after the late Surjit Singh Barnala.
Barnala served as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar islands over more than 14 years. Mr Narasimhan has served as Governor of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for 12 years.
Having served nine years and 210 days at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad, Mr Narasimhan stands fourth in the list of Governors who have served in the same state. Ahead of him are M.M. Jacob (Maharashtra 11 years 293 days), Padmaja Naidu (West Bengal, 10 years 209 days), N.N. Vohra (Jammu and Kashmir 10 years 59 days) .
Mr Narasimhan was appointed Governor of Chhattisgsrh in 2007 and was shifted to undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2009 when the separate Telangana moment was at its peak stage. After the state bifurcation, he continued as Governor for the two Telugu states.
After the appointment of Mr Biswabhusan Harichandan as AP Governor in July, Mr Narasimhan continued at the Telangana state Raj Bhavan. Just three days ago, Mr Narasimhan expressed doubt about his continuing as Governor.
Mr Narasimhan, a former Intelligence Bureau officer, was appointed as Governor by the Congress-led UPA government and continued under the NDA government led by the BJP.
Mr Narasimhan has faced criticism from all the main political parties including the Telugu Desam, Congress and the BJP.
When TD president N. Chandrababu Naidu was Chief Minister of AP, TD and BJP leaders alleged that Mr Narasimhan was acting like the Governor of Telangana state instead of for both the states, implying that he was favouring the new state.
In Telangana, the Congress and the BJP have that Mr Narasimhan be replaced as he was behaving like a TRS leader. Surprisingly, during Telangana statehood movement, TRS leaders were strongly critical of Mr Narasimhan. In the Assembly, TRS leaders T. Harish Rao and others tried to remove his chair while he was addressing a joint session.
After state bifurcation, he was seen as a friend of the TRS and an ;’enemy’ of other political parties. At one stage, Mr Naidu demanded the abolishment of the institution of Governor. Several TD ministers openly criticised Mr Narasimhan.Mr Narasimhan was known for visiting temples frequently, and the dislocation this caused was criticised.
