Everything Not Well In Maharashtra Ruling Coalition MVA? What Is Delaying Speaker Post's Election?

Since February last year, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly has been without a Speaker, a post that is constitutionally important to the functioning of the Lower House. This post, which is held by the Congress Party in the power sharing between the Maha Vikas Aghadi government constituents Shiv Sena and the NCP, has become a matter of tussle between the state government and Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. This tussle has brought to the fore the shadow boxing between the three stakeholders of power in Maharashtra.

While on the face of it the three parties appear to be together in Maharashtra, in reality, the Congress Party has been boxed into a corner by the Shiv Sena and the NCP, leaving it a “lonely third” in the tripartite coalition. The fact that the leadership of the Shiv Sena and the NCP are based in Mumbai and decisions are taken quickly, the Congress Party’s slow rumination on issues has pushed it to the outer ring from the inner ring of togetherness. So, while the Congress Party has been pushing for the election of the Speaker, the other two constituents appear to be in no hurry.

Presently, in the absence of a full time Speaker, the functioning of the post is handled by deputy Speaker Narhari Zhirwal of the NCP. When the initial power sharing talks were held during the formation of the MVA government, the NCP was keen on the Speaker’s post However, the Congress Party was adamant about this post. The party gave up the post of the deputy chief minister for the Speaker’s post.

Then in February last year, the party asked Nana Patole to quit the Speaker’s post and take on charge as the president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. This action without adequate discussion with the Shiv Sena and the NCP, after the tussle to get the post, did not sit well with the leadership of both parties. The camaraderie between NCP chief Sharad Pawar and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and their frequent meetings, including socially, has pushed the Congress Party to the sidelines.

Though the Congress Party feels that Patole’s resignation as the Speaker is the party’s internal matter, the fact that they have found little success in convincing their other halves to hurry the election process for the Speaker indicates that the Shiv Sena and NCP are willing to wait it out. The Congress Party was keen that the elections would be held on December 28 last year, which was the last day of the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature, it did not happen due to a dissenting letter from the state Governor.

Due to the simmering disgruntlement amongst the Congress Party MLAs against its leadership, the party did not want the Speaker’s election to be held by secret ballot. The MVA government hurriedly announced that the elections would be through a voice vote and not the mandatory secret ballot. The fear that the BJP will poach on their MLAs has been an over-riding fear of the Congress Party. About seven MLAs of the MVA’s other constituent parties too are not happy with the functioning of the incumbent government and would have in every likelihood cross-voted in the Speaker’s election.

These MLAs, said sources, continue to remain in their individual parties due to the prevalent anti-defection law. However, they would have defied the party whips and cross-voted for the opposition’s candidate. The mathematics of groupism within the MVA legislators is not lost on the leadership of the three parties. Cross voting would have brought out into the open the MVA’s inability to control its MLAs. Governor Koshyari, through a letter sent on the last day of the Winter Session, did not grant his assent for election by voice vote. The letter from the Governor sought more time to seek legal opinion on the change of voting pattern. A sizeable group within the MVA wanted the government to carry on with the election process despite the dissenting note by the Governor. But, the chief minister and many of the ministers warned that this would lead to a bigger problem – the Governor could cite a constitutional breakdown in the state and the elected government could be dismissed.

Given this, neither the Shiv Sena nor the NCP was willing to put the government at stake for the Speaker’s post. In the event of defections, the function of the Speaker is crucial, thereby the hurry of the Congress Party. On the other hand, since the deputy Speaker is actively handling the functions of the Speaker, the NCP is not pushing too hard for the elections. The Shiv Sena was never interested in the post hence the party too is not aggressively pursuing the election.

Significantly, the duration of the sessions of the Maharashtra Legislature has seen a reduction due to the ongoing pandemic. Since February last year whenever the Congress Party has pushed for the Speaker’s election, both Shiv Sena and NCP have deferred it stating that there were not enough MLAs attending the sessions or it was too risky for the government. However, this time when the Congress Party pursued it, the other parties put down their hands due to the Governor’s dissenting note.

It is common knowledge that Sharad Pawar is driving the MVA government. A close friend of the chief minister’s late father and Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, Pawar is the go-to person for the Chief Minister. Uddhav Thackeray has in the past mentioned Pawar as his mentor, a role taken seriously by the NCP chief.

Apart from this, the Congress Party is also concerned that this camaraderie will push them to the sidelines in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections slated for early this year. There are strong indications that the BJP is keen on poaching many of the incumbent Congress Party corporators. If that happens the party will face a dearth of candidates whose winnability is high.

In the near past, Congress Party leaders have been vocal about the secondary treatment given to the party in the ruling coalition. There is discontent that the special development funds are being allocated to the Shiv Sena and the NCP, as the major portfolios are held by both these parties. This is the base of the disgruntlement amongst the Congress Party MLAs, many of whom have castigated their state leadership for its inability to stand up to the other two parties.

Despite the potshots at the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the NCP have kept their “options” open with the former, a fact known to the Congress Party. In this shadow boxing, will the Congress Party be able to pull itself up, is the bigger question.