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The Governor-government tussle seems to politically benefit all those involved 

In a memorandum to the President of India, Tamil Nadu’s ruling alliance, led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has demanded the dismissal of Governor R.N. Ravi. In neighbouring Kerala, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), is locked in a battle with Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, but it has stopped short of calling for his dismissal. While the Governors of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are playing to the Delhi gallery from where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) watches politics in the two southern States closely, the DMK and the CPI(M) are playing to their domestic galleries. Here is how it works to the benefit of both the Governors and both the ruling fronts.

As it turns out, the DMK widely publicised the content of its memorandum to President Draupadi Murmu, but did not submit it in person to her. The party is evidently aware that there is little more than posturing it can do with regard to removing the Governor, who is a favourite of the BJP government at the Centre. In fact, that is perhaps the reason why it did not seek an appointment with Ms. Murmu. In the normal course of events, petitions to the President that are meant to make a political point are submitted in person, and followed by a media appearance outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In this instance, the outcome sought by the DMK from its strident rhetoric on the Governor is not his removal but a reinforcement of its politics within Tamil Nadu. To that extent, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s approach appears to be successful. The divergence between rhetoric and reality is a matter of detail; what counts is the fact that such theatrics rev up the base. The Supreme Court order to release the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case also came as a shot in the arm for the DMK, though the clash between the Chief Minister’s Office and the Raj Bhavan on the question precedes the current occupants in both. The release of the convicts is expected to further the DMK’s Dravidian politics.

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Mr. Ravi, on the other hand, has not shied away from questioning the cultural politics of Dravidian parties. His questioning of Dravidian common sense is music to the BJP’s ears. The party hopes to carve out a space in Tamil Nadu where one the two Dravidian axes is on the decline.

Mr. Khan’s clash with the LDF in Kerala is seemingly on governance issues and transparency but in the midst of it, he has also invoked his political past of being a Muslim reformist. As a Congress minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s council of ministers, Mr. Khan had defended the Supreme Court judgment in the Shah Bano case which was overturned later by Parliament under pressure from clerics. Mr. Khan is widely in demand as a speaker across the country for platforms leaning towards the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, where he dons the cap of a Muslim reformer. The collision with the Left in Kerala only embellishes Mr. Khan’s image, though he might be at the receiving end of broad-spectrum criticism within Kerala.

As for the LDF, which has been facing a slew of allegations that dented its image, the ongoing tussle with the Governor is a convenient distraction. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), which was trying to corner the LDF based on the issues raised by the Governor regarding nepotism in university appointments, joined hands with it as the confrontation escalated. On the one hand, the daily battle with the Governor has consolidated the LDF; on the other, it has confused the UDF. Some leaders and parties in the UDF see the Governor as an agent of the BJP, while others want to use the opportunity opened by his questioning of the LDF to corner it. Those who see the BJP as a long-term existential threat call for a united opposition against it, even if it means burying the hatchet with local rivals. They see the challenge posed by the BJP at the national level, though it may not be in the reckoning for power in the State immediately. This is true at least to some extent in Tamil Nadu too. Recently, Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani called upon the ruling DMK and the Opposition All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to stay vigilant of the BJP’s plans for the State. 

The tussle between the appointed Governors and elected leaders of the government may have affected governance in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but everyone appears to benefit politically from the situation.