Justice Brij Mohan Lal of the Patna High Court has been asked to officiate as Governor. This will mean that he will be the State's Constitutional head when the Assembly convenes on March 17 when Rabri has to prove her majority. So he will have to address the joint session.

Sources indicated that Justice Lal would be asked to continue as the acting Governor for some time in order to blunt the attack being planned by the RJD Government.

``With the Chief Justice occupying the Governor's office, Laloo would think twice before targeting the gubernatorial office for his party's recent travails,'' said a senior Government official.

A communique issued tonight by the Rashtrapati Bhawan said that thePresident of India ``has been pleased to appoint Shri Bhandari as the Governor of Gujarat for the remainder of his term as Governor.''

``I had requested the Government to move me out of Bihar and I am happy that my request has been accepted,'' Bhandari told reporters tonight. The reasons aren't hard to find.

Ever since Rabri was reinstated following the revocation of President's rule, there was speculation that Bhandari would be moved out. In his meetings with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani on Thursday, he made a strong plea that he be moved to Gujarat which is being ruled by a BJP Government.

Bhandari is said to have told Advani that he feared that in his address to the joint session of the State Assembly, he would be forced to criticise the ``communal and fascist RSS for the recent spurt in the killings in Central Bihar.'' This is something which he could not do, he is learnt to have argued.

The State BJP had said that it will make Bhandari's removal an electionissue. ``No one with any sense of self-respect can work with Laloo,'' said State BJP leader Sushil Mody.

Surprisingly, the RJD isn't celebrating. Spokesman Shakil Ahmed Khan said that this was no ``victory for the party.'' While the official party line is that the ``RSS doesn't believe in the Constitution and therefore Bhandari should have been removed earlier,'' sources say that the RJD is nervous about what happens next.