Respite for Uddhav as EC to hold polls for 9 Council seats on May 21

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday said it will hold elections for the nine vacant seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the upper house of

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday said it will hold elections for the nine vacant seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the upper house of the state legislature, on May 21, paving the way for chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to enter the legislature as a member. Thackeray needs to be elected from one of the nine seats by May 27 to retain his post at the helm of the state. Shiv Sena and its partners in the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition welcomed the decision.

HT Image

Friday’s development ends a period of uncertainty following the deferring of polls on April 3, owing to the coronavirus outbreak. The seats have been lying vacant since April 24. The 288-members of the Maharashtra Assembly will vote to elect the members to the upper house. “Elections to the posts of nine members of legislative council (MLCs) have been cleared,” a senior poll official told HT. “The commission has decided to hold the election on May 21. Normally, the counting is done on the same day. The results will also be declared then,” a second official added.

Sena leaders are now trying to ensure that the election is held without any hindrance and unanimously. A Sena functionary said that it would be a “smooth” election for Thackeray, who would be the second to contest an election from the Thackeray clan after his son, Aaditya, who contested the Assembly elections.

“In terms of numbers, the MVA has them. The nine seats to the council are to be elected by 288 members of the Assembly. The voting is done by preferential vote method and as per a formula adopted for these elections, roughly 29 votes are needed to elect one member. Based on the strength in the Assembly, BJP would get four seats, Sena and ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) would get two seats each, while the Congress would get one,” a Sena functionary said.

He added that the paperwork for nomination has been initiated. The notification for the election will be issued on May 4. According to the schedule, the last day for nominations is May 11.

Polling will be held on May 21, and the counting would be done on the same day.

Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut called the decision the victory of “truth and justice”. Raut also thanked the Centre and EC for the decision, which “saved” the state from a political crisis.

Calling it an “excellent” decision, Raut said, “I, on behalf of Shiv Sena, thank the Central government and the EC because this decision has put a stop to the atmosphere of uncertainty in Maharashtra. There were unfounded fears that if Thackeray is not elected to the House he would have to resign; the government would collapse, President’s Rule will be imposed. Many theories were floated, which caused fear in the minds of the people. The state government under chief minister Uddhav Thackeray was never going to collapse. It was thought that some technical and constitutional tangle would be created. The Central government and Election Commission has saved a big state like Maharashtra from going in the direction of a crisis.”

The NCP also welcomed the decision. Without naming Opposition party leaders, Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil said that attempts by them to get a backdoor entry vanished with the EC’s decision. “The state cabinet had recommended Uddhav Thackeray’s name to the governor twice, but no decision was taken. Subsequently, the three parties wrote to the EC, requesting it to hold polls on the nine seats as there is a chance of uncertainty in the state. Our request has been accepted by the EC. Many people were hoping that the government would become unstable and they could attempt [to get back in power]. But the declaration of the election has answered all their questions,” said Patil.

There is an apprehension among the ruling coalition that there could be an attempt to. create a legal hindrance in the legislative council election. However, a Sena leader said, “There is a Supreme Court ruling that once elections are declared it cannot be stayed. So if there is any plan of foul play, it is not going to work.”

In his address to the people on social media on Friday afternoon, Thackeray said: “If someone loves us, we reciprocate but if betrayed, we show them their place.”

Raut added that they hope that the issue would not be politicised at a time when the state is battling the Covid-19 outbreak.

“We are of the opinion that nobody should do politics at a time when Maharashtra is fighting a huge battle against the coronavirus and nowhere attempts should be made through political intervention. This is a time when the government and the opposition should work together for the people of the state. The people are expecting things from the opposition as well,” he said.

The ruling party is looking at making attempts to fill the vacant seats unopposed. In the past, there have been instances when political parties have ensured that the Rajya Sabha or Council seats are filled unanimously to avoid horse-trading. “We will see if the election on all nine seats can be held unopposed, considering the current coronavirus crisis. It would be an example for the rest of the country. Let’s see, nothing can be said if it would happen as of now,” he said.

On Thursday, Maharashtra governor B Koshyari had asked the Commission to hold the polls “at the earliest”. In a letter issued by Raj Bhavan, the governor said that elections to the vacant seats will help end the “uncertainty” prevailing in the state. The seats have been lying vacant since April 24. The governor urged the EC to take note of the fact that the Centre had allowed for various relaxations in the second phase of the lockdown. “As such the elections to the Council seats can be held with certain guidelines,” Koshyari said in his letter.