Revision as of 23:03, 16 May 2018

Political stability

‘Floor tests’ to determine majority

The Times of India, May 11 2016

1998 UP: Kalyan Singh vs Jagadambika Pal: Then UP governor Romesh Bhandari dismissed the Kalyan Singh govt, swore in Jagadambika Pal as CM, who was asked to prove majority by Feb 24. Singh moved HC, got order of reinstatement. Pal challenged HC decision in SC, which on Feb 24 ordered a floor test on Feb 27. Singh secured 225 votes against Pal's 195. SC said HC was right in reinstating Singh as CM.

2005 Jharkhand: Arjun Munda vs Shibu Soren: NDA's Arjun Munda moved SC challenging governor Syed Sibtey Razi's decision to invite Cong's Shibu Soren to form govt, giving him a 20-day window to prove majority.

2016 Uttarakhand

’Floor test’ to determine majority: 2016

The Times of India, May 07 2016

Dhananjay Mahapatra

SC's 3rd experiment with floor test

 During 1995-2015, with coalition politics and horse-trading gaining currency, the Supreme Court has had to deal with arbitrary decisions of governors in inviting persons who prima facie did not command majority in the assembly and order composite floor test to determine who had the trust of the House.

The top court had ordered composite floor test in UP in 1998 to determine who had majority -Kalyan Singh or Jagadambika Pal. It had opted for a similar floor test in Jharkhand in 2005 to determine whether Arjun Munda or Shibu Soren enjoyed majority .

The decision to order a floor test for dismissed Congress CM Harish Rawat in Uttarakhand is the apex court's third experiment with floor test but with a vital difference from the earlier occasions.

The bench of Justices Dipak Misra and S K Singh had no occasion to order a compo site floor test as there was no rival to Rawat claiming majority support in the House. Hence, Rawat faces a simple floor test.

On February 21, 1998, then UP governor Romesh Bhandari in a surprise decision dismissed the Kalyan Singh government and within hours swore in Jagadambika Pal as CM. He was asked to prove his majority by February 24. But Singh moved the high court and got an order of reinstatement. Pal challenged the HC decision in the SC.

The SC on February 24 ordered a “composite floor test“ on February 27. “The only agenda in the assembly would be to have a composite floor test between the contending parties in order to see which out of the two contesting claimants of chief ministership has the majority in the House,“ the SC ordered.On February 24, Singh secured 225 votes against Pal's 195.The SC said the HC was right in reinstating Singh as CM.

In March 2005, Jharkhand faced a similar situation under different circumstances.NDA's Arjun Munda, who had more MLAs than Congressled UPA's nominee Shibu Soren after the elections, had moved the SC challenging governor Syed Sibtey Razi's decision to invite Soren to form government and giving him a 20-day window to prove majority on the floor of the House.

On March 9, 2005, the SC ordered a composite floor test to determine who -Soren or Munda -enjoyed the trust of the House. It advanced the floor test by more than 10 days. The court had disallowed the hurriedly nominated members of Anglo-Indian community from voting in the floor test.

In latest twist, 2 BSP MLAs quit `pro-Rawat' alliance

I f the nine disqualified rebel Congress MLAs do not vote, the strength of the House would be reduced to 62 members. While the BJP has 28 MLAs, the Congress has 27. In such a scenario, the role of the six PDF members (who have till now allied with the Congress) assumes a greater significance.

But there has been a twist in the tale which could make ex-CM Harish Rawat a tad uncomfortable. In a late night statement, Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Haridas told TOI, “BSP has parted ways with the PDF and will now take its own decision. We will follow our party chief's instruction, which is likely to come in a day or two. “ There are six PDF members -three Independents, two from BSP and one from Uttarakhand Kranti Dal. The group will now play the role of kingmakers in the state assembly. Of these, the Independents -Dinesh Dhanai, Mantri Prasad Naithani and Harish Chandra Durgapal as well as UKD MLA Pritam Singh Panwar -have expressed solidarity with the Congress, while the two from BSP -Sarvat Kareem Ansari and Haridas -are yet to make their stand clear.