The way the centre misuse constitutional bodies, it makes Tirath as scapegoat to ensure that Mamata does not contest by-election before November 5 as per rule
Kolkata siyasat.net
Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on July 2, four months after replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat.
While the development primarily means that BJP has to choose a new Chief Minister for the Himalayan state where it is in power, it has also turned the spotlight on Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Mahara, a two-term Congress MLA in Uttarakhand, said the removal of Tirath as the CM of the state was not as simple as it appeared to be. Tirath Rawat could have contested the byelection. However, he did not, he said.
“The real issue is that the target is not Tirath but Mamata Banerjee. The way she has challenged the prime minister (Narendra Modi). We also know that the PM does not tolerate any challenge. We have seen what happened to LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi,” he said.
Mahara further said as Mamata “poked” the PM, the BJP has taken it as a challenge to stop her from getting elected as an MLA. “The way they (the centre) misuse constitutional bodies, they will sacrifice Tirath to ensure that Mamata does not contest,” he added.
As per the rules, Rawat, who assumed office of the CM on March 10, had to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of Uttarakhand in six months which is before September 10. Likewise, Banerjee, who took oath as the West Bengal Chief Minister on May 5, has to get elected to the West Bengal Assembly before November 5.
While TMC secured a thumping majority in the West Bengal Assembly polls, the results of which were announced on May 2, Banerjee lost to her former close aide BJP candidate Suvendu Adhkari by 1956 votes.
Last month, Banerjee moved the Calcutta high court challenging Suvendu Adhikari’s victory. The court has reserved its judgment in the matter. In the eight-phase West Bengal assembly polls, Banerjee’s TMC stormed to power for the third consecutive term, winning 213 of the 292 seats that went to polls. The BJP bagged 77 seats in the high-stakes state election.
Rawat, a Member of Parliament (MP) from Garhwal in Uttarakhand, was handpicked by the central leadership as the new Chief Minister on March 10 when his predecessor Trivendra Singh Rawat had to quit amid reports of disquiet within the BJP state unit.
Like Rawat, Banerjee is also bound by the rule according to which any minister (or CM) ceases to be the minister (or the CM) if he or she is not elected to the Legislative Assembly of the state within six months of assuming the charge.
Earlier this week, West Bengal government urged the Election Commission (EC) to conduct pending by-polls in the state at the earliest. The government, according to a PTI report, gave assurance that all COVID-19 protocols will be adhered to during the process.
On June 23, Banerjee had told reporters that by-polls due in the state could be held within seven days as the COVID-19 situation in the country is currently “under control”. The West Bengal Chief Minister might contest from Bhawanipore, one of the seven seats where elections are set to be held in the state.
If not elected to the Legislative Assembly until November 5, Banerjee would cease to be the Chief Minister. Under such circumstances, she may have to choose her successor who has to be a member of Legislative Assembly, or has to be one in six months of assuming the office.
There is one difference between the two cases, though. In Uttarakhand, by-polls due on two seats, could not be held because the assembly polls are scheduled in less than a year. In West Bengal, where the new government under Banerjee, assumed office in May, no such clause will come into play.
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