With the Supreme court extending time for Maharashtra’s rebel MLAs to respond to the deputy speaker’s notice till July 12, sources stated that the Uddhav Thackeray -led government will have to prove its majority on the floor of the house soon.
According to them, the governor can take suo moto action “on possibility of a volatile situation” and order a floor test.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is upbeat after Monday’s Supreme Court order and is confident of forming the government along with the Eknath Shinde faction of the Sena, they added.
Highly placed sources in the system stated that the demand for a floor test of the Uddhav Thackeray government can also be made before July 11, which is the next date of hearing in the Supreme Court. The Shinde group is consulting senior lawyers on some technical issues and those will be resolved soon, they informed.
Other options include either the Eknath Shinde group or the BJP asking for a floor test. However, sources said that the probability of the governor calling for a floor test is more.
Is merger a prerequisite for Shinde camp?
Highly placed sources in the BJP stated that a merger isn’t necessary as the Shinde faction is the “original Shiv Sena”.
“Shiv Sena has split and Shinde has the majority. So, they are the original Shiv Sena,” they said.
What about rumours of Shinde going with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)? “They would never go,” the sources maintained.
Can the deputy speaker spoil the opposition’s strategy during a floor test?
Sources in the BJP said that the deputy speaker will not dare to do anything that will be against the laws. If he does, then the governor can appoint a pro tem speaker.
So can the Uddhav government take action on the matter legally?
“They will do that if that happens but we will be ready for that,” stated a source.
Security of rebel MLAs a concern?
Sources stated that now the Maharashtra government is responsible to protect the lives and properties of the 39 rebel MLAs. Also, they said, both the Shiv Sena and BJP have evolved and are no longer the parties they used to be — Sena a rebellious and violent outfit, and the BJP playing second fiddle to it.
Sources also said that CM Uddhav Thackeray wanted to resign on June 21 but NCP chief Sharad Pawar stopped him. He decided to quit again on the 22nd but was stopped once more by Pawar, they added.
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