The Supreme Court will address the combined plea by Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena regarding Maharashtra government formation on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order till 10:30 am on Tuesday on a combined plea by the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress against the Maharashtra Governor’s decision to swear in Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister. A bench comprising Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna will likely pass the order after a floor test is held.
The Supreme Court had earlier asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to present Governor BS Koshyari’s order on November 23, according to which BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was invited to form the government. Fadnavis’ letter to the Governor claiming majority will also be placed before the court. On Sunday, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre as well as Maharashtra government. A notice was also issued to CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
Just hours before the Supreme Court hearing, leaders from Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress arrived at Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s office with a list of legislators supporting the alliance.
“Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis does not have the majority and would not be able to prove it on the floor of the house. Once he failed to prove the majority, we the alliance led by Shiv Sena, should be given an opportunity to form the government,” said the letter. NCP’s legislative party leader Jayant Patil averred that the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine has support of 162 MLAs.
