The days of Uddhav Thackeray seem numbered as a floor test has been called where he will have to prove his majority in the Maharashtra Assembly. If he loses, the Shiv Sena boss will have to resign as chief minister
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s future hangs in the balance. PTI
The Maharashtra political crisis, now in its ninth day, entered what could be the last stage with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Tuesday night and demanding that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority on the floor of the House.
Fadnavis claimed that the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress coalition government seemed to be in minority as 39 Sena MLAs who belong to the Eknath Shinde faction — who are currently holed up in a Guwahati hotel — have said they do not support it.
The former Maharashtra chief minister submitted a letter to Governor Koshyari, seeking direction to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly in view of the rebellion in the Shiv Sena, the lead party in the ruling alliance.
In his letter, Fadnavis wrote that as majority in the House is “supreme” in parliamentary democracy and essential for a government’s existence, he was requesting the Governor to ask the chief minister to prove majority at the earliest.
It has now been reported that the floor test will be held and rebel leader Eknath Shinde is on his way to Mumbai for it. Shinde was quoted as saying that he will arrive in Mumbai for a floor test on Thursday. Shinde also visited Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati to pray for the “peace and happiness” of Maharashtra.
In light of these developments, here’s a better understanding of what is a floor test, which will decide Uddhav Thackeray’s future and what could happen next.
Floor test explained
In very simple terms, a floor test is an exercise in which the government of the day seeks to know whether it still enjoys the confidence of the legislature. This means that the chief minister is asked to prove his majority on the Legislative Assembly’s floor.
When the majority of the government is questioned, a floor test comes into play and the leader of the party which claims majority has to move a vote of confidence and prove majority among those present and voting.
If the chief minister is unable to prove majority in the floor test, s/he loses and has to resign. For instance, in Uddhav Thackeray’s case, the majority mark stands at 144 in the 287-member state Assembly. When it comes to how the numbers add up, this is how the situation was before Eknath Shinde broke away from the MVA government: Shiv Sena with 55, NCP with 53 and Congress with 44.
Of this, Eknath Shinde now claims to have the support of 40 MLAs, reducing the Sena’s count to a meagre 15, which means the MVA alliance will no longer enjoy the majority.
Voting in a floor test
There are different ways MLAs or MPs (in case, a floor test is called in Parliament) can cast their vote in order to prove majority.
There’s the voice vote process in which legislators respond orally. There’s also the division vote in which the netas use electronic gadgets, slips or in a ballot box.
The third method of voting is the ballot vote, which is usually a secret vote.
Governor’s role
As per law, the Governor can summon the House under Article 175(2) and call for a floor test for the government to prove its majority.
If the Assembly is not in session, then the Governor can allow the Speaker to call for a floor test under his residuary powers under Article 163.
In Maharashtra’s case as the Assembly doesn’t have a Speaker, the role will be handed down to Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, the NCP leader.
If the MVA does lose majority in the floor test and the Eknath Shinde faction subsequently stakes claim along with the BJP, the Governor can invite them to form government and then ask for a floor test to prove majority.
Prithviraj Chavan, a Congress leader, was quoted as saying that the Governor, however, didn’t have the power to go against the Supreme Court’s directive of maintaining status quo till 12 July.
This time was granted by the apex court when the breakaway MLAs challenged the disqualification process initiated against them. The faction also challenged the rejection of the no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Narahari Zirwal.
Shinde in his plea said that Zirwal is an MLA from the NCP, who is taking decisions as deputy speaker since the post of the speaker has been vacant since February 2021.
According to the rebel camp, the NCP is backing the “minority faction” of the Shiv Sena – the small group that is still with Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray – and hence Zirwal’s actions are “biased, based on mala fide and considerations totally against constitutional principles and to help his political party”.
What next?
It has been reported that Shiv Sena is preparing to approach the Supreme Court if Governor B S Koshyari asks Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly.
Meanwhile, the Eknath Shinde camp has said they will return to Maharashtra from Assam and cast their vote at the floor test. Highly-placed sources have shot down speculation that the rebel group led by disgruntled Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde would merge with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
With inputs from agencies
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