ANTI-INCUMBENCY AND LG ROADBLOCKS FOR AAP

Vinai Kumar Saxena is the first Lieutenant Governor of Delhi who is not from a bureaucratic background.

- SIDHARTH MISHRA

Till Saxena assumed office in May 2022, Delhi has had only civil servants as the head of the administration. The exceptions being Air Vice Marshal HL Kapur, Romesh Bhandari and Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh, who held office between 1985-1990.

While Kapur and Singh were from the Indian Air Force, Bhandari was a career diplomat. The remaining either belonged to the Indian Civil Service (ICS), its successor IAS or IPS. Thus Saxena, who has a corporate background, becomes the only non-government official to hold this position.

In the past 76 years of post-independence existence, Delhi has had an effective legislative set up only for the past 30 years with a Chief Minister, with a well-defined role, in the office. In these 30 years, the legislative head has had his/her frictions with the head of administration. However, during these skirmishes, the Lieutenant Governors, the true hard-boiled bureaucrats they all have been, chose silence over loud speak.