Will Governor Koshyari’s 12 Maharashtra legislative Council seat nominations trigger next tussle with CM Uddhav Thackeray?

Governor BS Koshyari’s nomination of 12 members of legislative council (MLC) could become the next topic of friction between him and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra

Governor BS Koshyari’s nomination of 12 members of legislative council (MLC) could become the next topic of friction between him and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. To avoid any fresh confrontation, MVA has sought opinion from the state’s advocate general to avoid any legal hiccups after recommending the names.

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MVA is treading cautiously after an open letter-war erupted between CM Thackeray and Koshyari on Tuesday. While demanding that places of worship be reopened, Koshyari, in his letter, asked Thackeray if he had suddenly “turned secular”. In an equally strong reply, the CM questioned the governor if he does not believe in secularism – an important tenet of the Constitution. Thackeray, in his reply, also slammed him, stating that his Hindutva does not any certificate from the governor.

The term of 12 legislators nominated to the Upper house from the governor’s quota has expired in June. As per Article 171 (5) of the Constitution, those nominated to the Upper house “shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the following, namely — literature, science, art, co-operative movement and social service.” However, over the years, it has been used to accommodate political nominees, which can be challenged by Raj Bhavan, if the nominated person does not fit the Constitutional requirement.

MVA leaders think Koshyari may raise objection to some names and put the process on hold. The list of 12 names has been finalised by the three parties and was expected to be put before the state Cabinet on Wednesday, a Sena minister said. However, it was decided not to do so in light of the exchange of letters between Thackeray and Koshyari. “The government is seeking legal opinion on it before the Cabinet approves it and sends the names to the governor. We do not want any legality to delay the filling of 12 vacant seats,” said a Sena minister, on condition of anonymity.

State revenue minister and Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat told TV channels: “The proposal will come [before the Cabinet] at the right time. There is no dispute on seats between the three parties. We have got four seats each.”

Among the likely names from the Nationalist Congress Party quota are Eknath Khadse, farmer leader Raju Shetti, singer Anand Shinde and Uttamrao Jankar. While from the Shiv Sena’s quota former MP Chandrakant Khaire could be nominated. The Congress, meanwhile, could nominate party spokesperson Sachin Sawant, former MLA Arif Nasim Khan and its Pune leader Mohan Joshi.

An option being considered is not sending all 12 names together. According to insiders, the three parties have received around 500 names to be considered for the 12 seats.

Besides the recent letter war, the tussle between Raj Bhavan and the Thackeray government has been going on for past seven months. The friction started after Koshyari did not accept the state Cabinet’s recommendation to nominate Thackeray to the state legislative Council. Later, Koshyari took a contrarian stand on the state government’s decision to not hold final-year exams.