Governors8217; list okayed

Bakht has reportedly turned down the offer to head southward. But sources disclose, the Governor of a northernstate has approached Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee with a request to quot;shiftedquot; him to Karnataka. Vajpayee, however, did not warm up to the offer, it is learnt.

The search for the Karnataka Governor has now led the decision-makers to Janakrishna Murthy, senior BJP vice-president, their next choice after Bakht. But here too, concrete outcome eludes them.

Incidentally, the Union Home Ministry stepped on the toes of several important BJP allies with their choice of governors. Railways Minister Mamata Bannerjee, it was learnt, had met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Thursday evening and protested against the move to appoint Shah as the West Bengal Governor.

However, Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, who had opposed Shah8217;s name last year, on Thursday told reporters that Advani had discussed it with him and he accepted the proposal this time.