New Delhi: The race for Governorship of Jammu and Kashmir has intensified with two former Army Chiefs among the front-runners for the post as the term of present incumbent, Girish Chander Saxena, ends in March 2003.

The names doing rounds at present were of General (Retd) S F Rodrigues and General (Retd) S Padmanabhan for the coveted post, informed sources said in New Delhi on January 28.

The sources said the name of Rodrigues, who was chief of Army between 1990 to 1993, had been under consideration for about a year.

Padmanabhan was also considered for the post for his several stints in the state in various capacities.

He served as Corps Commander of 15th Corps General-Officer-Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command before becoming Army Chief.

The government has not yet found any political face to replace Saxena.

This was the second stint of Saxena as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Incidentally, he was brought to the state for the first time by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed only, when he was the Union Home Minister in the V P Singh government.

PTI