Sheila Dikshit Likely to Quit As Kerala Governor Soon: Sources

New Delhi: Sheila Dikshit's itinerary in Delhi today did not disabuse the notion that she is likely to quit soon as Governor of Kerala. Ms Dikshit, 76, met with Home Minister Rajnath Singh and then President Pranab Mukherjee.

Sources close to her said Ms Dikshit will resign soon, possibly tonight.

If that happens, she will have given the government what it has been looking for. Since taking office in May, the new administration has made it clear that it wants to replace governors who were appointed by the previous government with nominees of its own.

That "hit-list" of about a dozen governors has been whittled down over the last few months, with five of those shortlisted quitting office - the last resignation came from K Sankaranarayanan who quit as Maharashtra Governor last night after being told he was being transferred to Mizoram by the government .

Ms Dikshit is among the governors who have refused to acquiesce. Not as forcefully as Aziz Qureshi, the Governor of Uttarakhand, who has taken the Centre to the Supreme Court. Mr Qureshi claims that in two phone calls, the government warned him that if he does not resign, he will be sacked. The Home Minister has denied those allegations and said the government will present its version of events at the next court hearing. (Challenged in Court By a Governor, Centre Denies Trying to Sack Him)

If Ms Dikshit truncates her term as Kerala Governor, she could be back in Delhi just as the capital is likely to prep for elections to choose its next government. In December, Ms Dikshit sought a fourth consecutive term as Delhi Chief Minister; her party, the  Congress, placed a dismal third after 15 years of running the capital. Ms Dikshit was then posted to Kerala by the union government in March. Political opponents said Ms Dikshit had been made Governor to entitle her to immunity from an investigation into alleged corruption in the Commonwealth Games which were held in Delhi on her watch in 2010.

The Congress and other opposition parties say that the government's mass ejection of governors is a blatant violation of  a Supreme Court order from 2010 that says governors cannot be removed if the government at the Centre changes.

Last month, the government sacked Kamla Beniwal as Governor of Mizoram just a month after transferring her there from Gujarat, where she had shared a fractious relationship with Narendra Modi while he was Chief Minister. (Read)

Four governors have resigned in the last few months, allegedly in response to phone calls from the Centre that warned them of dismissal if they did not step down.

Last month, the government sacked Kamla Beniwal as Governor of Mizoram just a month after transferring her there from Gujarat, where she had shared a fractious relationship with Narendra Modi while he was Chief Minister.