THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor Arif Mohammad Khan made a lot of preparations to send the letter to the Chief Minister withdrawing his pleasure for Finance Minister KN Balagopal to continue in office. On October 17, he had warned that he would withdraw his pleasure for the ministers if they insult him. On the very next day, Balagopal gave a speech highlighting the issues in Uttar Pradesh. The Governor instructed Raj Bhavan officials to collect reports of this speech from Malayalam and English newspapers on the same day. He also asked the officials to prepare English translations of Malayalam reports. The Governor also collected reports and videos of speeches delivered by Ministers R. Bindu and P. Rajeev.

At that time, the Governor did not make it clear to the officials that he was going to write a letter to the CM. He made the notes on his own iPad. He collected matters, including the administration of universities in Uttar Pradesh, and UGC regulations applicable to all universities. with South Indians who were VCs in UP universities.

The Governor sent the English translation of Balagopal's speech to senior advocates of the Supreme Court and sought legal advice. He collected details about the governor withdrawing his favour to UP minister Azam Khan in 2015. Following this, he prepared the letter. Very few people, including Governor's Additional PA Hari S Kartha, knew the content of the letter.