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Special Maharashtra assembly session for trust vote cancelled
The cancellation came as Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray resigned after the Supreme Court refused to stall a floor test his government appeared set to lose
The special assembly session called for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to prove its majority on Thursday was cancelled as Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray resigned after the Supreme Court refused to stall a floor test his government appeared set to lose following the rebellion of Shiv Sena lawmakers.
The court allowed the floor test to go ahead on Thursday at 11am after the Sena challenged governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s move to convene the special session for it citing the pending disqualification proceedings against 16 of the rebels. “Since the purpose for which the session was convened no more remains necessary, I adjourned the session using the powers given to me under Article 174 of the Constitution,” Koshyari said in an order.
A circular Maharashtra assembly’s principal secretary, Rajendra Bhagwat, subsequently issued cited the Koshyari’s order and informed lawmakers that there was no need for the floor test now and the special session.
Thackeray will work as a caretaker chief minister until the new government is sworn in.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis was separately expected to hold talks with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena rebels before they are likely to stake the claim for forming the next government in Maharashtra on Thursday or Friday.
The Shinde group, which is in Goa, and the BJP were scheduled to hold a series of meetings related to the government formation.
A BJP leader said no final decision has been taken over when to stake the claim and that it depends on the final nod from the central leadership after a power-sharing pact is finalised with the Shinde camp. A second BJP leader said Fadnavis’s swearing-in is expected to take place on Saturday.
