From governor to minister in Uttar Pradesh: The curious case of Baby Rani Maurya

LUCKNOW: Traditionally, when a politician is appointed to the post of

governor

of a state, it is considered as an epilogue of one's career.

Not so for Baby Rani Maurya.

Uttarakhand governor till last year, the BJP leader returned to active politics, contested from Agra's rural seat, won convincingly and was on Friday sworn in as a cabinet minister in Yogi Adityanath government.

Experts insist this is a rare case as she is the first one in UP who has switched back from constitutional position to legislature.

"There is nothing wrong in this, but it is contradictory to the expected behavior," say experts citing the 1983 Justice RS

Sarkaria Commission

recommendations. The commission was set up by the central government to examine the centre-state relationship and ways and means to strengthen it. In its charter, the commission advocated for the appointment of non-political persons as governors for the best interest of democracy.

"Despite Sarkaria Commission recommendations, ruling parties continued to appoint experienced politicians as governor, but then they retired from there. Coming back to politics was rare," said Prof Shashikant Pandey, head of political science department at Babasahab Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow.

"Former union minister SM Krishna also returned to active politics, as did Sushil Kumar Shinde," said Prof Pandey, adding, "Such moves surely devalue the constitutional position of the governor who is supposed to turn "neutral" once he/she takes up the post of a governor." SM Krishna served as the governor of Maharashtra between 2004 and 2008 but was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2008-2014.

Sushil Kumar Shinde was the CM of Maharashtra and was appointed as governor of Andhra Pradesh on November 04, 2004. But he returned to active politics in 2006 and joined the Man Mohan Singh led government as minister.

Political experts believe the return of Baby Rani Maurya, a Jatav by caste, back into active politics is not without reasons.

Of the several reasons, the most significant one is her caste, Jatav, the same community which forms the core vote bank of Bahujan Samaj Party that has been rallying behind four-time CM Mayawati for decades.

After the fall of BSP and Mayawati's inactiveness during the 2022 elections, several Jatav pockets drifted towards the BJP while scores of them were disillusioned. This means that there is scope for their consolidation and Baby Rani fits the template well.

Many believe she can fortify the BJP's position significantly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Jatavs are considered to be the largest segment among the Dalits in Uttar Pradesh and Baby Rani Maurya has the advantage of the most prominent face from the community within the BJP.

Also, Baby Rani's personality and the kind of politics she does, may also add to the 'sushasan' and 'sabka saath' pitches of the BJP government as she is known for her 'positive and constructive politics'.