Ahead of floor test, all eyes on Maharashtra Governor & Deputy Speaker

The Sena-led MVA government is likely to state that it has numbers to prove its majority and call for a trust vote, former Maharashtra advocate general Shrihari Aney said.

With Maharashtra Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal appointing Ajay Choudhary as the Shiv Sena’s group leader in the House in place of rebel leader Eknath Shinde, the stage is set for the ruling coalition to prove its majority through a floor test, bringing into focus the role of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Zirwal.

The post of Speaker has been vacant since February 4, 2021, when Nana Patole quit, later taking over the reins of the Congress in the state.

Zirwal, a veteran of the NCP, is the interim Speaker. Relations between the MVA government and Koshyari have been strained, while Zirwal is considered close to NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Talking to PTI, former Maharashtra advocate general Shrihari Aney said the rebel group could assert that it doesn’t support the MVA government and that the dispensation has lost the majority, which will result in a no-confidence motion.

Also Raed: Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs declare Eknath Shinde their leader

The MVA government will likely assert that it has the numbers to prove its majority and call for a trust vote. “The rebel group along with the BJP may stake claim to form the government, following which the Governor will ask for a floor test,” Aney said.

Shinde claims to have the support of 46 MLAs, including Independents, but his letter to the Deputy Speaker to ask for replacing Sunil Prabhu with Bharat Gogavale as the chief whip of the Shiv Sena legislature party was signed by 35 Sena MLAs.

However, the group should comprise at least two-thirds of the Sena’s 55 MLAs to escape the anti-defection law.

According to a PTI report from Surat, six more Sena MLAs reached the city and flew to Guwahati in two chartered planes on Thursday.

Dissolve the Assembly

Article 174(2)(b) of the Constitution gives powers to the governor to dissolve the Assembly on the aid and advice of the Cabinet.

However, the governor can apply his mind when the advice comes from a chief minister whose majority is under reasonable suspicion.

“Unless these 36 (rebel) MLAs write to the Governor saying that we withdraw the support, only then the governor will have some role,” senior advocate Vikas Singh said. Until then, it will be considered the internal squabbling of a party.

(With inputs from PTI)