newly elected parliamentary representatives at both national and state level. Governorships In November 2008, Alva said that Congress seats for the elections in Karnataka were open to bidders rather than subject to meritocratic appointment. Congress denied her claims and a meeting with the party president, Sonia Gandhi resulted in Alva resigning or being removed from her numerous official responsibilities in the party. Subsequently, Alva patched up her differences with Congress leadership. She has declined to go into details of the 2008 controversy even as her resignation letter continues to be a subject of media speculation. On 6 August 2009, Alva became the first female Governor of Uttarakhand. Although she said then that she was enthusiastic about the challenges facing the nascent state, she found herself sidelined outside national politics and frustrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party state government. She remained in the post until May 2012, at which time she was appointed Governor of Rajasthan, which was a more important region in political terms. Of her time in Uttarakhand, Alva said that "The quietude allowed me to recharge my batteries and even spare some time for working on my biography". The autobiography is not expected to appear until after her retirement. The move to Rajasthan relieved Shivraj Patil, the Governor of Punjab, of his temporary adjunct responsibility for that state which had arisen due to the death of the incumbent governor, Prabha Rau, in April 2010; on 7 August 2014 she was dismissed by the President of India on the advice of the Narendra Modi ministry. Electoral performance References 1942 births Living people Politicians from Mangalore Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka Governors of Uttarakhand India MPs 1999–2004 Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka Governors of Rajasthan Governors of Gujarat Governors of Goa Lok Sabha members from Karnataka Women state governors of India Women in Karnataka politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2018 Mount Carmel College, Bangalore alumni Women members of the Lok Sabha Women members of the Rajya Sabha