Uddhav Thackeray ormally Picked as Maharashtra CM
MUMBAI : Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday night reached Raj Bhavan in Mumbai and staked claim to form the government in Maharashtra. He was accompanied by legislature party leaders of the Sena, the NCP and the Congress, a Sena leader said.
“We are submitting a joint statement of staking claim for government formation before the governor. We will also produce proof of the support of all the MLAs of the three parties to the governor as a part of the mandatory procedure,” said the leader.
The move came after Thackeray was unanimously elected as chief of the ‘Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA)’ on Tuesday evening, paving the way to becoming the new chief minister of Maharashtra. Thackeray’s name was proposed by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state president Jayant Patil and Congress state chief Balasaheb Thorat at a meeting in Mumbai of all the parties in the alliance.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party (SP) state president Abu Asim Azmi, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana president Raju Shetti, and other top leaders of the Sena, the NCP and the Congress were present at the meeting. NCP leader Nawaz Malik said the swearing-in ceremony will be held at Shivaji Park in the state capital on December 1.
Thackeray on Tuesday evening remembered his late father, Bal Thackeray, and thanked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar for the trust reposed in him. In his acceptance speech after being unanimously elected as the nominee for chief minister, Thackeray said he was overwhelmed by the honour and would strive to live up to the expectations of all the supporting parties and the people of Maharashtra.
“I had never dreamed of leading the state. I would like to thank Sonia Gandhi and others. We are giving a new direction to country by keeping faith in each other,” he says.”This is an alliance of parties with divergent ideologies. This will give a new direction to the whole country. However, it should not be reduced to ‘yours’ or ‘mine’, but it should ‘our’ government. More important, the common man of the state should feel is ‘my government’ always,” Thackeray said.
Thackeray promised to lead an all-inclusive government which would work for the cause of the farmers, the poor, the downtrodden and marginalised sections of society and sought the cooperation of the allies in his endeavour.
Addressing the joint meeting, Pawar remembered Balasaheb Thackeray. “It would have been great had Balasaheb Thackeray been alive today. We shared great love. We criticised each other a lot, but we never let go off the personal warmth,” he said.
Mr Fadnavis resigned shortly after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar quit as his deputy, unable to win over MLAs to help the BJP retain power. Ajit Pawar, whose overnight switch had enabled the BJP’s Saturday morning coup, is back in the NCP fold, say sources. He met his uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Tuesday evening.
“Ajit Pawar gave me his resignation. He told me he was resigning because of personal reasons. BJP had decided from the first day we will not indulge in horse-trading. We only decided to form government because NCP was with us. Since he has resigned, we don’t have the numbers. So I have also decided to resign,” Mr Fadnavis told reporters.
The resignations came after the Supreme Court ordered an “immediate” floor test, to be telecast live, so that Mr Fadnavis could prove his majority in the assembly. “If the floor test is delayed, there is a possibility of horse-trading, it becomes incumbent upon the Court to act to protect democratic values,” said the court.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the two top leaders of the BJP, had met right after the Supreme Court verdict. A message from the leadership went to Mr Fadnavis after the meeting.
Mr Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were sworn in on Saturday, in a sudden oath ceremony at 7.50 am that was challenged in the Supreme Court as undemocratic and unconstitutional.
Ajit Pawar’s turnabout was key to the BJP’s surprise comeback. But nearly all NCP MLAs returned to the party fold over the past few days and more than 50 also participated in a show of strength at a five-star hotel in Mumbai last evening. It became increasingly apparent that the Ajit Pawar was isolated within his own party and that the BJP may not have enough MLAs after all.
Ajit Pawar never took charge of his office or attended any event in his short-lived stint. Several NCP leaders, including his uncle Sharad Pawar and cousin Supriya Sule, called him to persuade him to return to the fold.
Unfazed by Ajit Pawar’s four-day “betrayal”, many of his supporters held up placards of “Ajit-Dada, we love you” at the Trident, where the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress met on government formation.
Maharashtra will have a Sena chief minister after 20 years but a Thackeray as Chief Minister for the first time. In the election last month, Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya became the first of his family to ever contest the election.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has called a special assembly session at 8 am for the oath-taking of newly elected MLAs.
(Bureau Report with agency Inputs).
