Unease within MVA after Patole resigns as Speaker
Congress maintains post to remain with party; Sena and NCP want discussions on names of candidates
MUMBAI: The disquiet in the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition is growing after the Congress decided to appoint Assembly Speaker Nana Patole as the party’s state unit chief. After Patole resigned as Speaker to assume charge as Congress’s Maharashtra president, there will be election for the post again. Congress’s ally in the state, the Shiv Sena, on Saturday expressed its displeasure over the development and said that the re-election for such a constitutional post should have been avoided.
While the Congress said that the post of the Assembly Speaker will continue to remain with the party, Sena’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut echoed the thoughts of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar that the three allies will decide the next Speaker after discussions.
“It’s pretty clear that the post is with the Congress party. But when a situation arises when the post of the Speaker or the chief minister (CM) needs to be changed, then going by the procedure, the names of the contenders should be discussed with the ruling partners before the decision,” Pawar said on Saturday.
Raut said, “Like Pawar saheb said, there will be discussion on [Speaker’s post] again. The Congress was given the post for five years. At that time, nobody knew that elections will have to be held after a year. The Congress should have thought why to go for election. However, as they have decided, all the three parties will discuss [the names].” When asked if CM Uddhav Thackeray was upset with the Congress’s decision to ask Patole to resign, Raut said, “We do believe that election for such constitutional posts should not have to be held again and again. The MVA government has the majority, but it still should have been avoided.”
Senior Sena and NCP leaders said they do not intend to renegotiate the power-sharing arrangement with the Congress, but only seek a detailed discussion over the names.
“Ideally, the Congress leadership should have discussed the alternative names [for the Speaker’s candidature] with the allies before making Patole resign from the post. There is no scope to renegotiate the powersharing agreement; they can keep the post, but it should be discussed beforehand with the chief minister [Uddhav Thackeray], Pawar saheb, and deputy chief minister [Ajit Pawar],” a senior Sena leader said.
Meanwhile, the Congress is divided over the Speaker’s post too. A section of the Congress leaders are open to give up the Speaker’s post for deputy CM and a cabinet berth, while others are of the view that the Speaker’s position is strategically important and thus should be with the party. The names of three senior Congress leaders — KC Padvi (state tribal development minister) Sangram Thopte (three-term legislator from Bhor) and Suresh
Warpudkar (five-term MLA from Pathri) are also doing the rounds for the Speaker’s post.
Meanwhile, the Sena in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana cautioned the Congress that it should ensure that its new state president must not become “excessively” aggressive. It also reminded the Congress that the ruling MVA allies have pulled off a “miracle” by keeping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power in the state.
“Asking Nana (Patole) to resign from the Speaker’s post to take charge of the state unit indicated that the Maharashtra Congress needed an aggressive face. Certainly, the Congress must have thought about this aggression not turning excessive,” the editorial stated on Saturday.
Later, Raut clarified over the editorial and told reporters that he did not criticise Patole, but said that “restraint” is crucial in a coalition government.
“Read the Saamana [editorial] carefully. Nowhere has he [Patole] been criticised. His enthusiasm to give Congress a new lease of life is noteworthy. Congress is an important political party, even though it is not in power. Patole is an able leader, known for his aggressive streak. I will only say that we are all in power in Maharashtra, so restraint is important for all.”