JOIN USSecret ballot may decide Manjhi fate
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi will prove his majority on the floor of the House on February 20 either through secret ballot or through lobby division.
The decision follows Governor Kesri Nath Tripathi’s directive to Manjhi to face the trial of strength next Friday immediately after he addresses the joint session of the state Legislature on the opening day of the Budget session.
Though the Nitish Kumar camp is upset over the “prolonged period” given to Manjhi to prove his majority, which they feel could lead to horse-trading, the Manjhi camp is confident that if voting takes place through a secret ballot, a large number of Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MLAs, who are swearing by Nitish, will vote for Manjhi.
“There are several legislators who are constantly in touch with me as they want to back Manjhi as the chief minister. Voting through secret ballot will clear the air over who commands more numbers,” state Rural Development Minister Nitish Mishra, a staunch Manjhi loyalist, told Deccan Herald on Thursday.
The governor’s decision to order a floor test came within hours after Nitish met President Pranab Mukherjee and urged him to end the Bihar stalemate soon.
Secretary to the Governor Brajesh Mehrotra said the floor test could be either through secret ballot or through lobby division.
In lobby division, the Treasury and Opposition benches will be sent to their respective lobbies and they will then cast their votes in separate ballot boxes.
Apart from the secret ballot and lobby division, there are two more methods for a floor test. One of the methods is the voice vote in which the Speaker asks the members to say “Aye” if they are in favour of the motion or say “No” if they are against it.
The last option could be a head count. In this case, the Speaker asks the members to raise their hands one by one, first for the motion and then against.
Manjhi had requested the governor that voting be done through secret ballot as many MLAs, who backed him, were under threat from the Nitish camp.
Though a secret ballot is rare, it has been used once in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in 1998 when the Assembly was convened to decide on who was the leader of the House–Jagdambika Pal or Kalyan Singh.
The voting, which was carried out through a secret ballot on the directive of the Supreme Court, ended Pal’s one-day-tenure as chief minister.