Mumbai: A female voter from neighbouring Thane has approached the Bombay High Court, seeking urgent directions to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena to form a government in Maharashtra, as per their “pre-poll alliance” plan.
The woman claims to have been cheated by the saffron front, which parted ways after the results for the 14th assembly poll were declared.
The voter, Priya Chauhan (47), has moved the HC through her advocate Nitin Satpute. She has urged the BJP and the Sena to form the government as the earliest as the people’s mandate was in their favour and not in that of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.
In her plea, Chauhan has also sought a direction to the Centre not to appoint anyone as the chief minister of the state either from the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress nor from the midnight installation of BJP’s Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar (NCP) combine.
According to Chauhan, she has been “betrayed” by the erstwhile saffron alliance, which parted ways over the post of CM. She has accordingly sought registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against the two saffron parties for failing to form the government and breaching the trust of the voters.
“Both the BJP and the Sena have betrayed the voters. They have not kept their promise, made before the election and have changed their alliances. Thus, the duo has cheated voters,” the petition reads.
Interestingly, the plea raises questions over the manner in which the BJP resorted to politics machinations after facing the prospects of a non-BJP alliance in the state.
It also questioned the manner in which the Governor revoked the President’s Rule from the state and invited Devendra Fadnavis to form his government, along with Ajit Pawar. It has raised doubts over the conduct of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
“The Governor has acted in a partisan manner and made a mockery of his office. His actions of administering oath to Fadnavis are a textbook example of him acting at the behest of a political party in power at the Centre,” Chauhan has said.
The plea is likely to come up for hearing before the bench, led by Justice Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari, in due course.
