Amidst political uncertainty in state, Uddhav Thackeray dials Modi

After Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari appeared non-committal on nominating chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to the legislative Council, Thackeray dialled

After Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari appeared non-committal on nominating chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to the legislative Council, Thackeray dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night to discuss the current political situation in Maharashtra.

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A senior Shiv Sena leader said that Thackeray expressed unhappiness over the politics being played around nomination as a member of legislative Council (MLC).

The conversation between the two leaders assumes significance in the context of the ongoing friction between the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as Governor Koshyari’s alleged delay in nominating Thackeray to state legislative Council.

The state cabinet had recommended Thackeray’s nomination to one of the two vacant seats in the upper house. Over 20 days later, the Governor has not processed the recommendation of the cabinet. On Tuesday, a delegation of MVA ministers met Koshyari to urge him to nominate Thackeray.

A senior Sena leader said Thackeray decided to call Modi and directly speak to him after he got indications from Koshyari that he would be consulting with the Centre before deciding on his nomination. The Sena leader said the CM requested Modi to intervene as a bitter political tussle in the middle of the Covid-19 outbreak would affect the state’s measures to control the pandemic. Maharashtra has the highest number of cases among India’s states.

“Uddhav discussed the current political uncertainty in the state with the PM. He expressed unhappiness over the politics being played over his nomination as MLC at a time when the state is combating the coronavirus outbreak,” said a senior Shiv Sena leader, requesting anonymity. Despite attempts, none of the senior Shiv Sena leaders wanted to officially comment on the issue.

With less than a month left for Thackeray to fulfil the constitutional requirement of getting elected to either of the houses of the state legislature, the alleged delay by the Governor has kept the proverbial Sword of Damocles hanging over the CM and his government. Thackeray, who is not a member of either of the houses of the legislature, took oath as the CM on November 28. He could lose the post if he is not elected to the legislature by May 27. The Shiv Sena is also exploring legal options to tackle the current uncertainty surrounding Thackeray’s nomination.

A senior BJP functionary said the governor had taken time to seek legal counsel. “Legally, election or nomination to vacant seats in the legislative Council cannot be done if the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is less than one year,” he said. The functionary, who requested anonymity, declined to comment on Thackeray’s call to the Prime Minister.