Political Chemistry Begins in Maharashtra
The Maharashtra assembly election results will be announced on Saturday. After the results are announced, there are only 72 hours to form a government, as the term of the current parliament ends on November 26. In this case, if a new government is not formed by November 25, Maharashtra will be under presidential rule as per the constitutional system. That is why this round of meetings begins before the results are out, to maintain political chemistry and there are no mutual differences in the alliance. In view of this, the Congress leaders, led by Maha Vikas Aghadi, have begun efforts to maintain coordination with each other.
In all the exit polls regarding the Maharashtra elections, the possibility of a BJP-led grand alliance to form the government was expressed, but Maha Vikas Aghadi leader denied all exit polls investigation statement. Maha Vikas Aghadi claimed that the change of power in the country was permanent. The Mahavikas Aghadi government is about to be formed. Key leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi met and brainstormed in Mumbai on Thursday to discuss strategies to form the government and keep MLAs united.
Discussion started by Mahavikas Aghadi
Maha Vikas Aghadi Prominent leaders of the three constituent parties held a meeting at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai on Thursday evening. The meeting was attended by Congress MPs Balasaheb Thorat and Satej Patil, Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Sanjay Raut, Anil Desai and NCP (S) state president Jayant Patil. After the meeting, which lasted for two-and-a-half hours, all the leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi gathered to meet Sharad Pawar at his Silver Oak bungalow. Thereafter, he went to Mattoshree to meet Uddhav Thackeray and shared the proceedings of the meeting.
If sources are to be believed, prominent leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi met and discussed in detail strategies to form the government and deal with MLAs. There was also a discussion on who would become the chief minister. The meeting also discussed the important role that independence and rebel leaders could play in government formation. In this context, plans were also developed to establish contacts with independence and rebel leaders participating in the elections. Balasaheb Thorat and Jayant Patil have been sent on a mission to establish contact with rebel leaders. Not only this, a strategy has also been formulated to ensure that Mahavikas Aghadi’s provinces do not secede. As soon as the results are out, we plan to bring all the winning MLAs to Mumbai.
Battle for MVA CM position
However, the meeting of Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders was held after Congress president Nana Patole issued a statement in which he said that Maha Vikas Aghadi The government will be formed under the leadership of the Congress Party. Congress will become the largest party and form the government. Reacting to Nana Patole’s statement, Uddhav faction leader Sanjay Raut said Maha Vikas Aghadi will form the government but all three parties will sit down and decide who will be the chief minister. In this situation, it is clear that a fight is going on among the Mahavika Aghadi leaders over the chief minister’s post. As a result, the meeting was held late at night and there was no difference of opinion and no rift within the alliance over the chief minister’s post.
The package for the post of CM was decided at a meeting of Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai. The party with more MLAs from the Maha Vikas Aghadi will become the chief minister. In this way, after the results are announced, MPs from the three parties will select the leader as the chief minister. Sharad Pawar takes Nana Patole’s statement seriously. He has instructed MVA leaders to avoid making statements until the election results are known. Such remarks should not be directed at each other, which creates tension in the league and the major leagues will exploit it.
Form a government within 72 hours
The term of the Maharashtra Assembly ends on November 26, so political parties have only 72 hours to form the government after the election results on November 23. If a coalition government cannot be formed by November 26, presidential rule will be imposed. The likelihood of a split mandate is very high as no single party has received a clear mandate in the state since 1990. However, before the introduction of presidential rule, the Governor-General had the power to invite the largest political parties to prove their majority in the House of Representatives.
Senior advocate and legal expert Dhruv Gupta said the question of imposing President’s rule would not arise if the option of government formation is not considered. After the election results come out, there will be many contenders to form the government. In such case, the Governor shall, at his discretion, invite any one of them to form the Government and direct him to prove a majority in the House of Representatives within a certain period. In this case, if someone withdraws from forming a government or fails to prove a majority, the president’s rule must be ratified. Yes, one thing is for sure, the government formation process must be completed before November 26.
If any party or alliance fails to secure majority before the formation of the new government in Maharashtra, the governor can give the largest party or pre-poll alliance a chance. It is up to that party or coalition to form a government. Apart from this, if any alliance secures a majority and there are tensions among its constituent parties, then only the option of presidential rule is left in Maharashtra. Both Mahayuthi and Maha Vikas Aghadi knew this very well. In this case, the political exercise begins.
To avoid President’s rule in Maharashtra, the government is trying to form the government as soon as possible and has devised a strategy to re-absorb rebel candidates into the party. The meeting held on Thursday discussed issues such as the ongoing feud between Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders and keeping MLAs in safe places to avoid a breakup after the election results are announced. The meeting also discussed what would happen if a majority vote was not obtained.
What is the history of Mandate rule in Maharashtra?
The last time any party secured a majority in Maharashtra was in 1985, when the Congress won 161 seats. Seven parliamentary elections since then have resulted in splits in the mandate and coalition governments. Maharashtra has been under President’s rule thrice. In 1980, Maharashtra came under President’s Rule for the first time, 34 years later, in 2014, for the second time and for the third time in 2019. After the results came out, the Shiv Sena broke the rule. Allied with the BJP as chief minister. Efforts have begun to create political chemistry to prevent situations like presidential rule.
