Although the new government should be formed by November 9, when the tenure of the incumbent Assembly comes to an end, experts say the governor has the power to give a few more days to the single-largest party to form the government. Experts’ view is contrary to finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar’s statement that a delay in laying claim to form the government may force president’s rule.
However, if given an extension, the party claiming to have sufficient numbers will face two floor tests, one during the election of the speaker and the other while passing the confidence motion to prove they have the adequate numbers.
The outgoing Assembly came into existence on November 10, 2014, after the swearing-in of the chief minister and his cabinet on October 31.
Former Supreme Court Justice PB Sawant said there was no need for Presidential rule unless the governor taps all possibilities of government formation. “Before recommending President’s rule, the governor will have to go for all attempts to form the government. He will have to first invite the single-largest party and give it an opportunity to pass the floor test. The Constitution doesn’t specify a timeline for the process, but it should be done in reasonable time. Similarly, the new Assembly should come into existence as soon as the term of the incumbent Assembly ends, but it can take a few more days. The swearing-in of the newly elected cabinet can even be done by appointing a pro-tem speaker without having a new government in place,” he said.
Officials from the law and judiciary department said there was no emergency leading to President’s rule. “The honourable governor, too, is taking review of the situation and he will call the single largest party to form the government soon. The party will be given a stipulated time to prove its majority on the floor of the house. It may take a few more days even after the term of the incumbent Assembly comes to an end,” an official from the department said.
The official said that a similar situation had occurred in 1999, when the Congress and NCP took longer to decide on the sharing of the departments. “The new Assembly can come into existence even by a notification issued by the Election Commission on completion of the term of the existing house,” said Anant Kalse, former principal secretary, state legislature.
“The party forming the government will have to ensure majority to install its speaker in the Assembly. In the current situation, there is a possibility of the Shiv Sena giving its candidate in the election of the speaker and garnering support from the Congress and NCP to embarrass the BJP. The voting for the speaker is through a secret ballot and it will expose the actual support to the ruling parties. If the BJP fails to give its speaker, it could be a setback for the party. The second floor test would be the passing of confidence motion within a few days of forming the government,” a senior BJP leader said.