Maharashtra: After setback in SC, BJP-Ajit Pawar resort to mind games on Twitter

Holding a special gearing on a holiday on the plea of NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena combine over the Maharashtra government formation, the Supreme Court on Sunday asked for the letters of the Governor inviting Devendra Fadnavis as also those pertaining to the BJP leader staking his claim to be produced before it on Monday.

Appearing for BJP, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi repeatedly argued that the court cannot question the governor’s decision as it was not the judiciary’s domain. However, the bench of Justices N.V. Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna did not buy Rohatgi’s arguments and underlined that the court could very much interfere in this matter.

The bench also rejected Mehta's strong pleas seeking two days’ time to place the Governor's communication on record. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was also present in the court.

As the day progressed, both BJP and NCP-Congress-Sena alliance held internal meetings with their MLAs and both the sides claimed to have the majority to form the government. The opposition parties continued to press for a floor test at the earliest and accused the BJP of running away from the same because it did not have the numbers and trying to buy time for “horse trading” of MLAs.

Towards the evening, NCP rebel Ajit Pawar set the social media and political circles abuzz through a tweet in which he claimed that he was still with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Sharad Pawar was his leader. He also added that BJP-NCP would give a stable government to the state.

This prompted Sharad Pawar to immediately issue a counter, saying that Ajit was making “false and misleading” statement.

“There is no question of forming an alliance with @BJP4Maharashtra. NCP has unanimously decided to ally with @ShivSena & @INCMaharashtra to form the government," Sharad Pawar said.

"Shri Ajit Pawar’s statement is false and misleading in order to create confusion and false perception among the people,” he added.

The BJP also claimed that Fadnavis had the support of 170 MLAs. The majority mark in a House of 288 is 145. According to BJP leader Ashish Shelar, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has given time till November 30 to the new government to prove its majority on the floor of the House.

Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were sworn in by Koshyari at 8 am on Saturday at a hush hush ceremony in Raj Bhavan in Mumbai after dramatic midnight developments, leading to the lifting of the President's rule.

The BJP was propped up by NCP's Ajit Pawar who revolted against his party headed by his uncle Sharad Pawar. Ajit Pawar was made the deputy chief minister.

The top court also issued notices to the Centre, Maharashtra government, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar on the petition filed on Saturday night by the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine against the Governor's decision to swear in the BJP leader as the chief minister.

The NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena shifted their MLAs to three different hotels in Mumbai. At hotel Renaissance in Powai, where NCP MLAs were lodged, party workers spotted two suspicious persons and asked for their ID cards. They turned out to be policemen in plainclothes but the two could not explain their presence at the hotel. Read the full story here: (https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/national/ncp-workers-question-presence-of-two-cops-at-mumbai-hotel)

"The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress (together) have 165 MLAs. If the governor calls for an identification parade, in 10 minutes we can prove our majority," Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters.

Talking to reporters, BJP's Ashish Shelar claimed that Fadnavis has the support of more than 170 MLAs and the BJP government will prove its majority on the floor of the House. He did not elaborate.

In the 288-member Assembly, BJP is the single largest party with 105 MLAs, followed by Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress party having 56, 54 and 44 members respectively.

NCP leader Nawab Malik said the swearing-in took place on the basis of bogus documents and that Fadnavis does not have the numbers.

Malik also said that out of the five NCP MLAs reported 'missing' till Sunday morning, two returned and another one posted a message on social media stating he was with the NCP.

There was a flurry of meetings with Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting Sharad Pawar at the suburban hotel where the NCP MLAs were staying.

Fadnavis, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil and Union minister Raosaheb Danve were among those present at a meeting held at the Mumbai BJP office Vasant Smriti in Dadar, party sources said Ajit Pawar while responding to Narendra's Modi's congratulatory message thanked the prime minister.

"Thank you Hon. Prime Minister @narendramodi ji. We will ensure a stable Government that will work hard for the welfare of the people of Maharashtra," he tweeted.

NCP sources said the tweet was an indication that Ajit Pawar had rejected emotional pleas by his partymen to rescind his decision to back the BJP.

Ajit Pawar, meanwhile, returned to his private residence near Churchgate in the early hours of Sunday and later met his supporters and some party leaders. He spent Saturday at his brother's home in Mumbai.

Demanding a floor test immediately, the Congress alleged that the BJP is "running away" from proving a majority in the Assembly as it does not have the required numbers.

Congress leader and former state chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in a joint plea by the Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena said they have sought the Supreme Court's intervention to order a floor test immediately.

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A bit of maths

While major political parties in Maharashtra are slugging it out to form a government amidst twists and turns, all eyes are now on which way 13 Independents and 16 MLAs from smaller parties will swing in the quest to achieve the 145-mark in the 288-member House in floor test.

The Shiv Sena claims to have the support of seven MLAs apart from its own flock of 56. The BJP claims to have the support of 14 more MLAs, taking its tally effectively to 119.

It is not certain how many MLAs, if any, are backing NCP leader Ajit Pawar who joined hands with the BJP on Saturday and took oath as deputy chief minister.

Achalpur MLA and Prahar Janshakti Party (PJP) chief Bacchu Kadu, who had given the Sena a letter of support several days ago, on Sunday told PTI that he and his two legislator colleagues will continue to back the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.

Krantikari Shetkari Paksh (KSP) MLA Shankarrao Gadakh has also given a letter of support to the Sena, which has also managed to garner backing of Ashish Jaiswal (Ramtek), Narendra Bhondekar (Bhandara), Manila Gavit (Sakri) and Chandrakant Patil (Muktainagar).

The MLAs supporting the BJP comprise Independents Ravi Rana (Badnera), Kishore Jorgewar (Chandrapur), Geeta Jain (Mira Bhayander), Mahesh Baldi (Uran), Sanjay Shinde (Karmala), Rajendra Raut (Barshi), Pakash Awade (Ichalkaranji), and Rajendra Patil (Shirol).

The BJP also claims the support of PWP MLA Shyamsunder Shinde (Loha), Rashtriya Samaj Paksh's Ratnakar Gutte from Gangakhed, Rajesh Patil from Bhoisar, Kshitij Thakur from Nalasopara, Hitendra Thakur from Vasai, all from the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), and Jan Surajya Shakti Party's Shahuwadi MLA Vinayak Kore.

Others in the Assembly include the AIMIM and Samajwadi Party with two MLAs each, and the CPM, MNS, RSP and Swabhimani Paksh with one MLA each.

In the polls, results of which were declared on October 24, the BJP got 105 seats, followed by the Sena with 56, the NCP 54 and the Congress 44.