Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to declare elections for nine vacant Legislative Council seats in the State ‘at the earliest’.
In his letter, the Governor said the elections can be held with certain guidelines. Mr. Koshyari said since Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is not a member of either House of legislature, he needs to get elected to the Council before May 28.
The letter indicates that the Governor has rejected the State Cabinet’s proposal to nominate Mr. Thackeray to one of the two vacant Council seats from the Governor’s quota.
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Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the move. He said the ECI will soon take an appropriate decision after consulting with the Union Home Ministry. He said, “This move will also ensure that the tradition of a Governor-appointed MLC not becoming a minister, will remain intact. We give our good wishes to the Chief Minister.”
The ECI had withheld the election process for the nine Council seats, which have been lying vacant since April 24, following the novel coronavirus outbreak. With the fate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government hanging in the balance over Mr. Thackeray’s election, the Cabinet passed a resolution requesting the Governor to nominate Mr. Thackeray.
With the Governor taking time to arrive at a decision, the MVA allies started accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of playing politics and pushing the State towards political instability.
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Finally, Mr. Thackeray on Wednesday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue.
The three MVA allies had also suggested writing to the ECI to call for elections. Two Sena leaders met Mr. Koshyari on Thursday evening and the Governor then wrote to the ECI endorsing their suggestion. “A letter written by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray requesting the Governor to write to the Election Commission in this regard was handed over to him by Minister for Urban Development Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena secretary Milind Narvekar this evening,” said a release from the Raj Bhavan, on Thursday night.
May 28 deadline
If the ECI accepts the recommendation, Mr. Thackeray can be elected to the Council before May 28. Mr Thackeray was sworn in as the Chief Minister on November 28 last year. As per the Constitution, a minister has to become a member of either House of the legislature within six months of being sworn in. The deadline for Mr. Thackeray is May 28.