Maharashtra Government Formation: Fadnavis Resigns, Uddhav Thackeray Set To Become Chief Minister

The Maha Vikas Aghadi--a three-way alliance between Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress--is set to form the government in Maharashtra led by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

The three-way alliance submitted their claim to form the government to the Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari. Thackeray will be sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 28, said NCP leader Jayant Patil outside the Raj Bhavan after meeting the governor.

The resolution to anoint Thackeray as the leader of the alliance was passed at a joint meeting in Trident Hotel, Mumbai, just hours after BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis resigned citing lack of support for his government.

“I had never dreamed of leading the state,” Thackeray, who will go on to become the first chief minister from his family, said while addressing the alliance’s MLAs. “We are giving a new direction to the country by keeping faith in each other.”

Thackeray also said his government will not be vengeful. “The fight is not personal, my government will not work in a vindictive way.”

“I will go to Delhi to meet my ‘elder brother’ after the government is formed,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had called him his “younger brother” during campaign rallies.

He thanked Congress President Sonia Gandhi for supporting the alliance. “I want to thank Sonia ji also. Parties with different ideologies have come together. Those who were friends for 30 years, did not trust us. But those against whom we fought for 30 years have trusted me.”

Fadnavis’ 80-Hour Reign

Fadnavis’ resignation was shortly after his Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stepped down and returned to the Congress-NCP-Sena alliance.

Addressing a media conference earlier, Fadnavis said he will resign as he doesn’t have the required numbers to form a government without the support of Ajit Pawar. Fadnavis said when Ajit Pawar came to them pledging NCP’s support, they approached the Governor and formed the government. “Now that Ajit Pawar has resigned, I will also tender my resignation,” he said.

Fadnavis, however, added that as the single largest party it will be a formidable opposition in the state assembly. “We wish them all the best, we are fairly confident that such a contradictory three-wheeled alliance will not last.”

Other highlights from Fadnavis’ press conference

• In elections, clear majority was given to Mahayuti and BJP got maximum 105 seats.
• We contested with Shiv Sena, but this mandate was for BJP because BJP won 70 percent seats out of all seats we contested.
• Shiv Sena told us before election, that they will go with anyone which gives them the CM post.
• Thank Shiv Sena for the five years of alliance’s government in Maharashtra
• Did not compromise on any investigation in cases related to Ajit Pawar.
• Decision to ally with Ajit Pawar was made at state level, communicated to the central leadership.

Watch the full press conference and BloombergQuint’s analysis of the developments.

Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has moved a resolution to give birth to Maha Vikas Aghadi--a three-way alliance between Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress at the joint meeting at Trident Hotel.

All MLAs have passed the resolution.

The alliance will have a coordination committee.

Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP will hold a joint meeting at the Trident Hotel in Mumbai. MLAs and senior leaders of all three parties have started arriving.

BJP’s MLA Kalidas Kolambkar has taken oath as the Protem speaker.

The Congress said that how Fadnavis was sworn in as the chief minister will be a day “recorded in black letters in history”

“The question today is not that truth has won. Truth has triumphed in Maharashtra. The larger question is, and we do hope the Supreme Court goes into that, is the manner in which the Constitution, rules, regulations, precedents, traditions were completely disregarded,” said Congress leader Manish Tewari in a media conference.

“What has happened today is the first comma in the unrelenting, unscrupulous manner in which opposition governments have been toppled or have been sought to be toppled in the past by the NDA government,” he said.

Devendra Fadnavis has come out looking foolish of this whole ordeal, according to political analyst and former journalist Sujata Anandan who has covered Maharashtra politics for almost three decades.

“He has really not thought it out. The ‘Me Punha Yeil’ (I will come back) campaign upset not only everyone else but also the people in the BJP. They felt sidelined. The guys who could have built bridges with Uddhav Thackeray just sat back and did nothing,” Anandan said.

Anandan added that he should’ve also done a proper assessment before going for to the Maharashtra governor for staking claim. “How can he go to the governor without a full list of the members who are coming in your support. If you need 35, why would you go to the governor with just 10 or 12?”

The BJP has paid for underestimating what Sharad Pawar can pull off, especially in his stronghold of Maharashtra, according to analysts and political commentators.

“All of them completely misread Sharad Pawar,” said Arathi Jerath, senior journalist and political commentator. “They misread him during the election campaign when they went after his party and engineered all those defections. Then they slapped that case on Sharad Pawar which spurred him into action. He just got energised and took over the campaign which completely upset BJP’s gameplan.”

The final nail in the coffin was trying to lure away his nephew Ajit Pawar, Jerath says. “If you saw Sharad Pawar's body language last night, it was that of the old Sharad Pawar. The one that we used to know.”

Agreed political and economic analyst Shankkar Aiyar. He said that BJP didn’t completely recognise that Pawar was the man who stitched together a coalition of 14 parties in 1978.

“The BJP exaggerated its own strength and discount Sharad Pawar’s capabilities. And they are paying for it. They have egg on their faces now,” Aiyar said.

Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray will be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the next five years, said Sanjay Raut, adding that Ajit Pawar - who rebelled against the NCP to join hands with the BJP - has resigned from his post as the Deputy Chief Minister and is back with the NCP.

Amid media reports of Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar resigning from his post, Nationalist Congress Party’s Jayant Patil said that he has not come to know about this development.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held also held a meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah, who is also the Union home minister, and the party's working president JP Nadda after the Supreme Court ordered a floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly on Wednesday.

Though there was no official word on what transpired in the meeting, the leaders are believed to have deliberated on the Maharashtra situation, according to PTI.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is now scheduled to address the media at 3:30 p.m. today, according to ANI.

At the same time, all newly elected BJP MLAs in the state have been asked to reach Mumbai to attend a meeting to be addressed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on today evening, a party leader told PTI

Along with its own 105 MLAs, the BJP has the support of "14 other legislators" from various smaller parties and Independents, the leader claimed.

The BJP on Tuesday said the floor test in Maharashtra assembly on Wednesday will establish the position of different parties in its entirety.

Its national spokesperson Nalin Kohli also rejected the contention that the Supreme Court order on the floor test on Wednesday is a "setback" to the BJP, asserting that "no judicial pronouncement on issues of the Constitution can be a setback to any political party".

Judicial orders only strengthen the Constitution, he added.

"Is not an irony and political hypocrisy when on the one hand political parties speak about constitutional values and on the other hand express an intention to boycott parliament on the occasion of Constitutional Day," he said, attacking the Congress and other BJP rivals for boycotting the joint sitting of Parliament which is being held to mark 70 years of the adoption of the Constitution.

Kohli said the Supreme Court has to be complied with and said it was in line with the Bommai judgment that a floor test was the only conclusive test to prove majority in the House.

He also said that once the floor test is conducted it will "establish the complete position" in its entirety.

To a question if the order was a setback to the BJP, he said, "No judicial pronouncement on issues of the constitution can be a setback to any political party because such pronouncements ensure strengthening of constitutional provisions and add to the further evolution of democracy."

Source: PTI

With the Supreme Court directing Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to ensure floor test in the state Assembly on Wednesday, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said truth cannot be defeated.

The Supreme Court’s decision on Maharashtra floor test is slap for the 'illegitimate' BJP-Ajit Pawar government which held the Maharashtra 'mandate' hostage, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a tweet.

Congress party leader Prithviraj Chavan is confident of the three-party alliance's (NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena) majority in Maharashtra assembly tomorrow where the reality of BJP's claim will be exposed, he added.

If the Devendra Fadnavis government wins the floor test, the business community will heave a sigh of relief, said Aditi Phadnis, political editor at Business Standard. However, if the Fadnavis government loses the floor test, it will lead to a tectonic shift in Maharashtra politics, she said in a conversation with BloombergQuint.

"If BJP loses the floor test, many high profile projects could be reviewed; could lead to significant upheavals in policy making,” she said. “On the other hand, Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress also has senior leaders with public policy and governance experience.”

The Supreme Court’s verdict is only a temporary fix to the larger problem of how a Governor is appointed under the Indian constitution, Senior Resident Fellow at Vidhi Centre, Alok Prasanna Kumar told BloombergQuint.

“What the court has done is that the immediate issue has to be addressed. We can't keep hearing constitution bench cases where parties will argue for days while there is political turmoil in Maharashtra,” he said, pointing out that even in Karnataka, larger issues were raised by the parties about role of the Governor, how much time should be given, etc.

Kumar said he expects a similar scenario of a hung assembly to play out in another state election next year.

- Supreme Court has ordered swearing in of the MLAs from 11 a.m. tomorrow
- Pro tem speaker will conduct the floor test at 5 p.m. tomorrow
- This will be a court-supervised floor test

In a win for the Congress-NCP-Sena alliance, the three-judge Supreme Court bench has ordered a floor test in the Maharashtra Government Formation case for Wednesday - Nov. 27, 2019.

Here’s what the Supreme Court ordered in its verdict:

• Maharashtra Assembly floor test proceedings to be telecast live.
• Floor test will be conducted via open ballot.
• Special session of the Maharashtra Assembly to be convened on Nov. 27.
• Pro tem speaker to be appointed immediately.
• Pro tem speaker to administer oath to members and conduct the floor test.

Current Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis from the Bharatiya Janata Party and his Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar (who claims to still be a part of the NCP), will have to prove their majority in the Maharashtra assembly.

Yesterday BJP claimed to have the support of 170 MLAs, including that of members of the Nationalist Congress Party.

The NCP-Congress-Sena alliance on the other hand, also claims the support of 154 MLAs and held a public show of strength last evening. The alliance had also submitted affidavits claiming the support of 154 MLAs to the bench yesterday morning.

The three-judge Supreme Court bench - comprising of Justice NV Ramana, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Sanjiv Khanna - has assembled.

Justice Ramana will read the order.

The Supreme Court today is expected to pronounce its order on a joint plea by Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress—which is seeking an immediate floor test for the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis-led government. The verdict will be delivered at 10:30 a.m.

The court hearing follows days of political drama, which included allegations of blackmail, kidnapping, missing MLAs; with multiple plot twists which resulted in a hastened swearing-in ceremony of BJP Maharashtra leader Fadnavis as chief minister and NCP’s Ajit Pawar as his deputy.

Tiff Between The Pawars

Ajit Pawar and NCP Chief Sharad Pawar have been at loggerheads over the decision. Ajit Pawar on Sunday tweeted assuring people that “I am in the NCP and shall always be in the NCP and @PawarSpeaks Saheb is our leader. Our BJP-NCP alliance shall provide a stable Government in Maharashtra for the next five years which will work sincerely for the welfare of the State and its people.”

Sharad Pawar replied to his nephew’s Tweet saying “There is no question of forming an alliance with @BJP4Maharashtra. NCP has unanimously decided to ally with @ShivSena & @INCMaharashtra to form the government. Shri Ajit Pawar’s statement is false and misleading in order to create confusion and false perception among the people.”

Who Has The MLAs?

The three-way alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress--being called the Maha Vikas Aghadi--gathered their MLAs at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Mumbai to show that they have enough numbers to form a government in Maharashtra. The gathering, which had scores of MLAs present, was addressed by top leaders of each party. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aaditya, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule were all present at the hotel. All MLAs present took a pledge to stay loyal to the three-way alliance.

Also yesterday, Ajit Pawar maintained’s legal representation maintained in court that he’s a part of the NCP and that the BJP-NCP alliance has the support of 170 MLAs.

Arguments In Court

Appearing for the Shiv Sena, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said the combine has affidavits from 154 Maharashtra MLAs and the BJP should be asked to prove its majority within 24 hours if it has the numbers.

The Centre told a bench comprising Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna that the governor had in absolute discretion invited the largest party to form government on Nov. 23. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the top court the Maharashtra governor is not supposed to conduct a roving and fishing inquiry to ascertain which party has the numbers to form government.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Ajit Pawar, told the bench that the governor rightly invited Fadnavis to form government.

Opening his arguments, Sibal, appearing for the Shiv Sena, referred to Uddhav Thackeray being declared the next Maharashtra chief minister at a press conference of the three parties. "Where was national emergency to revoke President's rule at 5.27 a.m. and CM being administered oath at 8 am next morning," Sibal asked. Sibal referred to the alleged haste by which President's rule was revoked and a new government was formed in Maharashtra and said it has never been done in history. "(Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress) Combine has affidavits of 154 Maharashtra MLAs supporting it. If the BJP has numbers, then they should be asked to prove majority within 24 hours," Sibal said.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the NCP and the Congress, termed it a "fraud of the worst kind" and asked whether a single NCP MLA told Ajit Pawar that he supported him to go with the BJP.