Constitutional crisis looms in Maha; Governor mulls options, meets advocate general

With 48 hours to go before the dissolution of the Maharashtra Assembly at midnight on Saturday, the state’s Governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, holds the key to how

With 48 hours to go before the dissolution of the Maharashtra Assembly at midnight on Saturday, the state’s Governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, holds the key to how and when the next government will be formed.

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The chief minister and his council of ministers will have to resign by Saturday midnight.

By this time, the Governor is also expected to invite BJP, which is the single largest party with 105 seats, to form the next government.

Constitutional experts said the state’s “political actors still have time to get their act together” and only after exploring all options, can President’s Rule be imposed in the state.

“The governor has to call the single-largest party to form the government before the last day of the Assembly. BJP, in this case, can be given time as per his discretion to form the government. It, of course, has to be a reasonable time. If BJP fails to form the government or fails the floor test, the next political bloc will be asked to do the same,’’ said Shreehari Aney, former advocate general of Maharashtra.

He said the governor can also ask the incumbent government to continue as the caretaker government until the next government is formed. This is a likely option to avoid having a vacuum in the state.

Another constitutional expert, Ulhas Bapat, pointed out that while the Governor can give time to BJP to prove its majority in the Assembly, it cannot be given leeway or time to stake claim. “BJP will have to tell the Governor that it plans to stake claim and then swear-in its council of ministers. It can then seek reasonable time before proving majority in the Assembly. The appointment of a caretaker CM or government is also a grey area, ‘’ said Bapat.

“If both alliances or parties fail to form government, Governor will have to recommend President’s Rule. In this case, the executive powers of the government are taken over by the President and the legislative powers by the Parliament. Any time during President’s Rule, parties can stake claim to form government again and if they succeed, the rule gets withdrawn,’’ he added.

The Governor summoned advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni on Thursday evening to consult with him on the legal options in case of a constitutional logjam. Earlier, a BJP delegation met the Governor to apprise him of the ongoing political scenario and discuss legal options before it.

“We had a detailed meeting with him [Governor] to brief him about the ongoing political situation. We also discussed the various legal options in front of us owing to the delay in forming the government,” said BJP’s state unit chief Chandrakant Patil.

The formation of the new Assembly can take some more time even after its five-year term ends on November 9.

“There are many instances when the new Assembly was constituted days after the term ended. Like in 2004, the term of the new Assembly began on November 4, two weeks after the five-year term of the previous house ended on October 19. The swearing-in of newly elected members generally take place after the formation of the government. But the Governor can appoint the most senior MLA as a pro-tem speaker to administer oath to the MLAs, if the government formation is taking place,” said an official from the law and judiciary department.

Some experts felt that the governor had already taken too long to ask the single-largest party to form government.

PB Sawant, retired Supreme Court (SC) justice, said, “In
this case, the time taken is more than reasonable, but now according to the SR Bommai case verdict, the single-largest party will now be asked to form the government and prove the majority. Before that, the newly appointed MLAs will have to be sworn in,” he said.