Four-day-old Government Collapses in India’s Richest State

(Bloomberg) -- A four-day-old coalition government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party collapsed in the western Indian state of Maharashtra after it failed to muster a majority.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis resigned in Mumbai, the state’s capital, which is also home to India’s benchmark stock exchange and leading conglomerates, Reliance Industries Ltd. and the Tata group.

The latest twist in the state’s ongoing political drama is a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had backed Fadnavis’ candidacy for the top job as his party laid out its ambition to govern all of India’s states. The BJP found itself in a minority after its partner walked out of a coalition due to differences over power sharing.

“The BJP has always maintained that they are a party that’s different from others. But they have shown that they are as ruthless if not more when it comes to gaining power,” said Rahul Verma, a researcher at Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research who has written a book about identity in Indian politics.

Control of Maharashtra, India’s second-most populous state, would have helped Modi implement his push to attract foreign investment and revitalize the nation’s manufacturing base at a time when the growth is at a six-year low. The state has India’s highest revenue collections, according to government estimates, and attracted the major share of foreign direct investment -- 30% of the total, or $129 billion -- since 2000.

The move on Tuesday came hours after India’s top court ordered a floor test so that Fadnavis could prove majority. The BJP leader was sworn in as chief minister in a hurried ceremony on Saturday, even as an alliance of opposition parties said that they had the numbers needed to form the government in the state.

Leading Party

The BJP had emerged as the single largest party in state elections in October but fallen short of a clear majority in the 288-seat legislature. A pre-poll alliance with its regional partner, the Shiv Sena, fell apart over sharing the chief minister’s post.

Since then, the race to form a government in the country’s richest state has been something of a political thriller with unexpected alliances, infighting, a hurried swearing-in, and a Sunday hearing in the top court.

Last week, the state’s main opposition party, Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party, the Shiv Sena and the Congress party had announced a plan to form a coalition government. The plan was thwarted overnight with the BJP’s Fadnavis being sworn in as chief minister and Ajit Pawar, a senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, as deputy chief minister.

Through the weekend insinuations of horse-trading swirled in the local media as the mathematics of the BJP-coalition came together before finally falling apart.

The latest development now sets the stage for the formation of a new coalition government. The Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress party together claim they have the support of 162 lawmakers in the 288-elected member assembly.

But the chaos in Maharashtra’s politics may not yet be over as the new alliance stakes its claim to power. While Shiv Sena champions the cause of Hindu nationalism, its newfound partners, the Congress and NCP, espouse the rights of religious minorities.

“How will a government with three wheels be able to function?” Fadnavis asked at his press conference. “The Maharashtra mandate was for the BJP.”

Maharashtra is India’s richest state and its capital Mumbai, a city of 18 million people, is home to companies such as Reliance Industries Ltd. and Tata Group, India’s two main stock markets and the country’s film industry.

--With assistance from Upmanyu Trivedi.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.net;Archana Chaudhary in New Delhi at achaudhary2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Unni Krishnan at ukrishnan2@bloomberg.net, Muneeza Naqvi

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.