BackMaharashtra governor puts the MLC nomination ball in EC’s court
Election Commission (EC) is scheduled to hold a meeting on Friday in which this issue is going to be taken up, according to people aware of developmentsThe decision of the Governor comes nearly three weeks after the Maharashtra cabinet recommend the name of Uddhav Thackeray as an MLC
PremiumNEW DELHI : Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday requested the Election Commission (EC) to declare elections to nine legislative council seats in the state ‘at the earliest’, in a move that could end protracted political uncertainty in the state.
If the EC accepts the request, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray could get elected as a member of the legislative council. The situation was necessitated as Thackeray completes six months in office on 28 May and is yet to become a legislator.
The EC will discuss the issue at a meeting on Friday, a person aware of the matter said. All major elections in the country have been put on hold by the EC following the coronavirus outbreak. The EC will discuss if an exception can be made, said the person cited above.
“The governor has made the request to Election Commission to fill the 9 seats in the legislative council, that have been lying vacant from 24 April, with a view to end the current uncertainty in the state," a release by the governor’s office on Wednesday said. The letter to EC says certain relaxations have been made from the lockdown, and council elections too can be held with some guidelines. In the letter, he has also spoken about the specific case of Thackeray saying his election by 27 May is “needed" as he is not a member of either of the Houses.
The governor’s decision comes nearly three weeks after the Maharashtra cabinet recommended the name of Thackeray as an MLC. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government had then suggested that the governor should make Thackeray a nominated member of legislative council since elections for the vacant post was not happening due to the pandemic.
The timing of the governor’s recommendation is interesting as it comes just a day after Thackeray spoke to prime minister Narendra Modi and reportedly asked him to intervene. If Thackeray does not become a member of legislative assembly or council by 27 May, when he completes six months in office, he will have to resign from the post triggering a constitutional and political crisis.
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