Governor directs to hold poll for Speaker’s post
MUMBAI: In a rare development, Governor BS Koshyari has directed the Maharashtra legislature to hold elections for the post of Speaker of the Assembly, which is lying vacant following the resignation of Nana Patole who was appointed as state Congress chief.
Koshyari’s directive assumes significance in the context of the ongoing tussle between him and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state. It also comes barely a week after Thackeray denied a state aircraft to Koshyari to travel to Uttarakhand last Thursday.
Koshyari has written a letter to the state legislature secretariat on Tuesday in connection with the Speaker’s election.
Patole resigned as Speaker on February 4 to take up new responsibility as the state Congress president.
The ruling coalition has been deliberating whether to hold the election at the beginning of the budget session of the state legislature that starts on March 1, or later.
Coalition leaders are wary of holding the election immediately since it needs to be held through a secret ballot. MVA leaders are wary that the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may encourage cross-voting to defeat their nominee, which would mean the collapse of the Thackeray government.
Koshyari, in his letter, directed the legislative secretariat to hold the election in the first week of the budget session, said a senior official.
The issue was discussed in a state cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The ministers expressed unhappiness over the move. “This is the first time the Governor wrote such a letter as he cannot issue such a directive without the recommendation of the state government,” said a senior minister, on condition of anonymity.
Last Thursday, the Thackeray government had denied permission to Koshyari to use the state’s aeroplane to travel to Dehradun. This has led to a blame game between the Raj Bhavan secretariat and the chief minister’s office (CMO).