Whoever termed all state governors ‘rubber stamps’ probably hasn’t met Kateekal Sankaranarayanan. The Maharashtra governor has been in office since January 22, 2010, after holding the august post in Jharkhand and Nagaland. Before that, he held many positions in Kerala on behalf of Congress — right from district general secretary to PCC chief and a minister. He was convener of the United Democratic Front (UDF) for a record 16 years. So, he has substantial experience to his credit on how a coalition works.

Here in Maharashtra, Sankaranarayanan has been closely observing the activities of the Congress-NCP combine, ruling the state in the form of the Democratic Front government. In recent times, he appears to have become quite dynamic compared to his predecessors. Apart from holding special responsibility to allocate equitable funds for development of three regions — rest of Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha — under Article 371 (2) of the Constitution, the governor has been scrutinising the decisions of the state government and their implementation.