Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari requests EC to conduct polls for 9 vacant Legislative Council seats

After sitting over the recommendation by the Maharashtra cabinet to nominate Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to the Legislative Council, Governor BS Koshyari on Thursday requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to declare polls for nine vacant seats of the Upper House of the state legislature.

A statement from Raj Bhavan said that Koshyari has requested the ECI to declare elections to the nine vacant seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council ‘at the earliest’.

All elections were suspended by the poll watchdog in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, even before the nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24. The process to fill nine vacant seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council was also withheld due to the pandemic.

The governor has made the request to the poll body to fill the 9 seats in the legislative council that have been lying vacant since April 24, with a view to end the current uncertainty in the State.

In his letter, Koshyari stated that the Centre has announced many relaxation measures regarding the enforcement of the coronavirus lockdown in the country. As such the elections to the council seats can be held with certain guidelines, he said.

Since the chief minister is not a member of either house of the state legislature, he needs to get elected to the Council before May 27, 2020, the statement said.

Thackeray was sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister on November 28, 2019, without being the member of any house. He has to be elected as a legislator by May 28 when he completes six months in office or he will cease to hold the post.

Koshyari has been sitting on a recommendation by the state cabinet which had sought Thackeray's nomination as one of the governor nominees in the Legislative Council on April 9.

A delegation of MVA leaders led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar met the governor on Tuesday and handed over the cabinet decision's copy to him.