Cong, RJD in Goa, Bihar: ‘ Invite us’

‘ Governors must follow one rule’

Citing the example of Karnataka, where the BJP was invited by the governor to form the next government after it emerged as the single largest party but short of a simple majority, the RJD in Bihar and the Congress in Goa and Manipur on Friday staked claim to form the governments in these states, while seeking a uniform rule for a governor to follow in the event of a hung Assembly. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, accompanied by the Congress, Hindustani Awam Morcha ( HAM) and CPI( ML) leaders, held a meeting with governor Satya Pal Malik in Patna during which he demanded that his party be invited to form a government in Bihar since it was the single largest party, and also constituted the single- largest pre- poll alliance. After the meeting, Mr Yadav said the RJD had the support of 111 MLAs, “and if asked for a floor test, we are confident of winning as more

legislators are likely to vote in our favour”. Mr Yadav, who is the Opposition leader in the Bihar Assembly, said there has to be one rule in the country and if the Karnataka governor’s decision to invite the BJP on the ground that it was the single largest party was correct, the same yardstick should be applied to Bihar.

The RJD was relegated to the Opposition last year after the JD( U) walked out of the three- party alliance, which also included the Congress, and joined hands with the BJP to form a new government under Nitish Kumar. Assembly polls in Bihar were held in November 2015.

In the 243- member Assembly, the RJD is the single- largest party with 80 MLAs, while JD( U) has 71 legislators and the BJP has 53 members. The NDA’s constituents, LJP and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, have two seats each. The Congress has 27 MLAs

The Goa Congress Legislative Party, led by Chandrakant Kavlekar, met governor Mridula Sinha at Raj Bhavan in Panaji and submitted a letter seeking an invitation to the party to prove its majority on the floor of the House. The party said it gave the governor seven days to decide on its request.

Fourteen of the 16 Congress legislators were present at the meeting with the governor as one of them is abroad and another is hospitalised. Later, Mr Kavlekar said: “We requested the governor to follow the precedent of Karnataka and undo the mistake she had committed on March 12, 2017 when she invited the minority party ( BJP) to form the government.” In the Assembly polls held in February last year, the Congress had bagged 17 seats in the 40- member House, but fell short of the majority mark by four seats. The BJP, which bagged 13 seats, firmed up an alliance with the Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, both of which had secured three seats each, and also took the support of three Independents. Subsequently, the governor invited the BJP- led coalition to form the government. Later, one Congress MLAs switched sides to the BJP and won his seat in the byelection.

In Manipur, a Congress delegation staked claim to forming the government, said Kh Jaikishan Singh, the spokesperson of the party’s state unit. Nine leaders of Congress Legislature Party, led by the Opposition leader in the Manipur Assembly and former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, met acting governor Jagdish Mukhi at Raj Bhavan and staked claim to form a government, Mr Singh told reporters in Imphal.

The Congress had bagged 28 seats in the 60member House in the 2017 Assembly polls and emerged as the singlelargest party.