‘Act and update me’: Governor tells Uddhav Thackeray to elect Speaker

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari`s letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was written on June 24. File pic

While the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is still mulling over the Speaker's election, a letter from the governor asking the chief minister to act on certain things, including the vacancy of the Assembly's presiding officer, has come to light on Wednesday. The letter's timely emergence fuelled political warfare yet again, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) challenging the MVA to schedule the poll in the monsoon session of the state legislature, instead of bragging about its majority in the lower house.

The governor's letter was written on June 24, but came to the fore a day after CM Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar met on Tuesday. The leaders are learnt to have discussed many issues such as the speaker's poll, other legislative business that needs to be sorted out in the two-day session, and the matters of unease between the ruling parties. The monsoon session is scheduled on July 5 and 6.

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked Thackeray to act and report on the demands that were raised by the BJP. He had given similar directions before the budget session, saying the Speaker's post cannot be kept vacant. The vacancy occurred after Nana Patole quit to be appointed later as the president of the state Congress. However, the MVA allies have not been very happy with the Congress for forcing the election, which if held, will test the alliance's strength in the house. As per the agreement, the Congress will get the post, and Sangram Thopte is the frontrunner.

On record, the MVA has 169 MLAs, and the BJP and its allies are over 115. But many in the three-party alliance fear cross-voting in case of a secret ballot. Also, the absence of MLAs cannot be ruled out in the pandemic. If scheduled, the MVA will have to reach out to the BJP to make the election unopposed, because traditionally such clashes are avoided when the ruling party has an unbeatable majority. Will the BJP agree?

The BJP said on Wednesday that their strategy was decided. "They (the MVA) don't have the guts. We challenge them to schedule the elections first, our ‘karyakram' (strategy) is well decided," said BJP leader Ashish Shelar after a party leaders' meeting on Wednesday.

NCP chief spokesperson and minister Nawab Malik said the election will be held on July 6. "The MVA candidate will win with a huge margin," he said. The Congress has issued a whip to its legislators to ensure their presence in the session.

Extend session, stall polls

Koshyari said a BJP-delegation led by party leader Devendra Fadnavis had visited Raj Bhavan on June 23 and demanded the legislative session be held for extended time (beyond two days) and the by-polls to the local self-government bodies be stayed because the political quota of the OBC has been stayed.

The BJP also wants the Speaker elected. "Act on these and update me, because the above three subjects are very important," the governor wrote further.

There have been many instances in the past that led to friction between the Raj Bhavan and the government. Koshyari hasn't cleared the 12 government nominees for the Upper House despite the MVA lodging a complaint with the prime minster. The governor had written a caustic letter to the CM over keeping religious places locked while the rest of the state was unlocked last October.

Seeking answers from the CM over the delay in reopening religious places in the unlocking that started from June, Koshyari had said, "I wonder if you are receiving any divine premonition to keep postponing re-opening or you've suddenly turned 'secular' yourselves, the term you hated?"

The tussle peaked when Koshyari wasn't allowed to board a state-owned aircraft and Thackeray stopped using the Raj Bhavan helipad. The tension between them was eased early this month when Thackeray visited the Raj Bhavan to wish Koshyari on his birthday.

24 June
Day the governor wrote the letter