Govt formation 8212; Onus now on Alexander

Noted jurist and a former judge of the Bombay High Court, Dharmadhikar said, since Congress has emerged as a single largest party, it will be most appropriate if it is given a chance to form the government. If it declines the offer, then it is open for the Governor to invite the second largest party for the purpose, he added.

When his attention was drawn to the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-state relations and administrative reforms, Justice Dharmadhikari said the pre-poll alliance in Maharashtra was completely different than envisaged by the commission. 8220;I think, the situation in Maharashtra is different. Here, it will be wrong to treat the alliance as one entity, since the alliance partners have reached an agreement with a different formula. My view is that the alliance should be without any pre-conditions, while the Sena-BJP has decided that the Chief Minister will be from that party which bags more seats,8221; he pointed out.

In any case, the party which is invited to form the government will have to prove its majority on the floor of the house. 8220;In the event, the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party come together, then the political situation will be different, since they have a clear majority,8221; he remarked.

Former minister of state for law and judiciary and senior Congress leader Marzaban Patrawala said the Constitution is crystal clear on formation of the government. 8220;If there is clear majority for the party, then there is no dispute, as the governor is bound to invite the leader of the majority party. However, now there is no majority for any party, the only option before the governor is to invite the leader of the single largest party,8221; Patrawala said.

On the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission, Patrawala said while the commission has made observations on pre-poll alliance, the Constitution does not recognise such arrangements. 8220;My opinion is that there is no legal sanctity for pre-poll alliance. Such arrangements are only for the working of the alliance on the floor of the house,8221; Patrawala added.

Patrawala recalled that on several occasions, when no party is in a position to form the government, the President or the governors, have invited the leaders of the single largest parties. 8220;In 1989, when Rajiv Gandhi declined to form the government, since there was no clear majority for the Congress, the then President had invited V P Singh, the leaders of the second single largest party to form the government. Even in 1995, when Sharad Pawar had declined, Governor Alexander had invited Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi to form the government,8221; Patrawala added.

Senior Shiv Sena leader and eminent lawyer Adik Shirodkar however differed from observations of Justice Dharmadhikari and Patrawala. 8220;I feel that under such circumstances, Alexander will have no option but to invite the leader of the Sena-BJP alliance to form the government,8221; he added.

Shirodkar said even the provisions of the Representation of People Act is very clear. 8220;After the 1995 elections, I had cited the specific authority under the Representation of People Act, which clearly states that pre-poll alliance should be treated as a single party. Now, since the alliance has emerged as a single largest entity, it should be invited to form the government,8221; Shirodkar remarked.

Shirodkar said, while he was hopeful that the Governor will invite the alliance to form the government, in the event it is not invited, the alliance will have to knock the doors of justice.