Janjivan Bureau / Mumbai : Continuous drama is on in Maharashtra. After the resignation of Dy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis handed over his resignation to Governor B S Koshyari on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier Supreme Court at 10.30 directed that a floor test for Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to prove his majority in the Assembly be conducted on Wednesday.
“Fadnavis called on the governor and tendered his resignation,” said a statement from Raj Bhavan.
Fadnavis, sworn in only three days ago, announced at a press conference on Tuesday that he was going to resign as with deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar stepping down, the BJP does not have a majority in the Assembly.
The floor test for Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to prove his majority in the assembly will be conducted on Wednesday, the Supreme Court has directed.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has resigned, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday.
“Ajit dada has resigned and he is with us. Uddhav Thackeray will be the chief Minister of Maharashtra for five years,” Raut said.
In dramatic twist to political events in Maharashtra, the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari as the next Chief Minister early on Saturday morning, Ajit Pawar as his deputy.
Koshyari administered the oath of office to the two leaders in a hush hush ceremony at the Raj Bhavan, setting off political ripples across parties in the state.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should resign as the Uddhav Thackeray’s party-led coalition has the support of “162 MLAs” to prove majority in the Maharashtra Assembly.
He claimed that during the floor test, the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ of the Sena, NCP and Congress will have the support of “170 legislators”.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that a floor test for Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to prove his majority in the Assembly be conducted on Wednesday.
The BJP and the Sena, which fought the last month’s Assembly polls in an alliance, secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats respectively.
The Sena, however, broke its three-decade-long ties with the BJP after the latter declined to share the chief minister’s post.
The NCP and Congress won 54 and 44 seats respectively.
Before resignation, Supreme court stating that it is necessary to have a floor test to avoid horse trading, the apex court on Tuesday also asked Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to appoint a pro-tem speaker and ensure that all elected members of the House are sworn in on Wednesday itself.
The entire exercise will be telecast live and has to be completed by 5 pm, said a bench comprising Justices N V Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna.
Voting in the assembly shall not be on the basis of secret ballot, it said.
The governor pro-tem speaker will administer oath to the newly elected members.
“In the present case, oath has not been administered to the newly elected MLAs…In the present scenario to avoid horse trading it is necessary to have a floor test to determine the majority in the house,” the bench said.
“We are of the considered opinion that the governor should ensure a floor test,” it said.
The apex court concluded the brief proceeding by saying that replies to the main petition filed by the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine against the governor’s decision to swear Fadnavis as chief minister will be done in eight weeks.
The court said it was necessary to pass an interim order for a floor test to uphold democratic values and the citizens’ rights to good governance.
It was imperative for the court to be cognisant of the prevailing circumstances, the bench added.
Keeping in mind constitutional morality, the bench observed that the oath has not been administered to the elected members even after a month of results being declared in the state.
The top court also said for a stable government in the state, the floor test has to be conducted as soon as possible and the governor should appoint a pro-tem speaker for administering oath to the elected members.
In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, the BJP is the single-largest party with 105 MLAs, followed by the Shiv Sena (56 MLAs), the NCP (54 MLAs) and the Congress (44 MLAs).
