The stepping down of Tirath Singh Rawat as the chief minister of Uttarakhand after just four months in office has brought to the forefront West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who could be facing a similar situation soon.
Rawat, like Banerjee, was not an elected member of the Legislative Assembly, a prerequisite to hold the top position in a state.
Rules dictate that Rawat, who was sworn in as CM on March 10, had to be elected to the Assembly within six months, i.e. September 10. Since the Election Commission did not conduct bypolls in the state due to the Covid-19 situation, this was not possible. To resolve what he called a “constitutional crisis”, Rawat resigned from the post on July 2.
Similarly, Banerjee assumed office on May 5, three days after results of the Assembly polls declared a thumping victory for her party, Trinamool Congress, in West Bengal. If the EC does not conduct bypolls in the eastern state in the next four months, she will have to resign.
Congress’s Karan Mahara, deputy leader of opposition in Uttarakhand, alleged that Rawat could have contested bypolls, but he didn’t because the BJP wanted to ensure that Banerjee does not get elected.
He said this was because she had challenged PM Narendra Modi. “We also know that the PM does not tolerate any challenge. We have seen what happened to L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi,” Mahara said in a press conference.
The three-time CM had lost to her aide-turned-enemy Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram by 1,956 votes. She has also challenged the BJP leader’s win in the Calcutta High Court, which has reserved its judgment in the case.
According to Article 164(4) of the Constitution, a minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the legislature of the state “shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister”. As per the Representation of People’s Act 1951, a bypoll should be held within six months in case of a vacancy.
Earlier this week, the Mamata Banerjee government had urged the EC to hold bypolls soon in the seven vacancies to get the CM elected. Banerjee is likely to contest from Bhawanipore, one of the seven seats posed to go for polls.
The state government conveyed to the poll panel that it was fully prepared to hold the by-elections as the Covid-19 infection rate was coming down.
(With DHNS/ PTI inputs)