As SC again pulls up Maharashtra Speaker, the twists and turns in Sena disqualification saga so far

What has transpired in the case so far?

The current situation can be traced back to the post-poll scenario in Maharashtra in 2019. That year, the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance won 161 of the 288 Assembly seats. However, a one-month deadlock occurred amid an intensifying power struggle over the CM’s chair.

After the results, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray asserted that he did not intend to break the alliance but expected the BJP to keep its promise of equal power-sharing.

On November 7, as there was still no breakthrough, leaders of the BJP met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari alone, and the Sena shifted its MLAs to a resort, ostensibly to avoid poaching. The Sena demanded a concrete promise that the CM post would go to it for two-and-a-half years.

With no government even 18 days after the declaration of the Assembly poll results, President’s Rule was imposed in Maharashtra on November 12.

On November 23, President’s Rule was revoked at 5.30 am. Hours later, Koshyari administered the oath of office to Devendra Fadnavis, who was sworn in as Maharashtra CM, and Nationalist Congress Party’s Ajit Pawar who became Deputy CM. The dramatic turnaround by Ajit Pawar was followed by more U-turns.

The Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress subsequently announced the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition. Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar was removed as the leader of the NCP Legislature Party but not from the party.

Two days later, the MVA held a show of strength, claiming they had 162 MLAs on their side, along with the support of 15 smaller parties and Independents. The floor test was held on November 30, with the MVA coming out on top with 169 votes. With this, Uddhav realised his long-cherished dream of becoming the CM.

The split

The MVA remained in power for about 31 months and ended with the split of the Shiv Sena. The party’s Thane strongman Eknath Shinde launched a rebellion against the Thackerays on June 20, 2022. Along with a few MLAs, Shinde went to Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat, where they stayed for two nights before leaving for Assam, another BJP-ruled state, on June 22.

As more MLAs continued to jump ship, Uddhav called an urgent meeting of all party MLAs but Shinde skipped it along with 11 legislators backing him. The Uddhav faction then removed Shinde from the post of legislature party leader.

Shinde then reappeared, claiming he had the support of 40 of the Sena’s 56 MLAs, more than the number required to buck the anti-defection law.

After the split, both factions accused each other of defying the party’s whip over the election of a Speaker and the trust vote on July 4. Consequently, both sought disqualification of the MLAs on the opposite side.

The chief whip of the undivided Shiv Sena, MLA Sunil Prabhu, filed disqualification petitions against 16 Shinde Sena MLAs. The Shinde Sena faction reacted by immediately filing a counter-petition demanding the disqualification of 14 MLAs with Uddhav.

Uddhav’s resignation

As the Uddhav faction moved the top court against the Governor’s direction for a floor test to prove the government’s strength, the Shinde faction also joined the courtroom battle to press for an immediate floor test.

On July 3, a day before the floor test was due, the court decided against issuing a stay. Shortly after, Uddhav resigned as CM and Shinde took over the following day and Fadnavis became the Deputy CM.

The EC ruling

Putting an official seal on the Sena split, the Election Commission ordered this February 17 that the Shinde faction was the real Shiv Sena. It said the Shinde group would retain the party name and the “bow and arrow” symbol.

What the Supreme Court said

On May 11, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held that the status quo ante of June 2022 in the Maharashtra Assembly cannot be restored as then CM Uddhav Thackeray resigned before facing the floor test. The court also said that it cannot adjudicate petitions under the 10th Schedule in the first instance and that the Speaker must decide the disqualification petitions within a reasonable period. This put the ball back in Narwekar’s court.

Narwekar takes his time

However, a month after the SC order, Narwekar did not issue a notification to any of the MLAs. On September 14, he issued an order that further directions on the matter would be issued in due course.

On September 19, the SC took exception to the Speaker not yet deciding on the petitions and asked him to set a timeline. A week later, Narwekar started the proceedings, beginning with the disqualification pleas against Shinde and other Sena MLAs. On October 21, he decided to club all 34 petitions into six groups. The Sena factions made submission of all their documents by October 25.