Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray paid a courtesy visit to Raj Bhavan on the occasion of 'Maharashtra Day' today and met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
This visit comes a day Koshyari urged the Election Commission to order elections to the 9 vacant seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council at the earliest.
This is a relief for Uddhav who was hoping to become a member of the Maharashtra Assembly by getting elected on one of the nine seats before May 28. If he fails to enter the state assembly as an MLA or MLC by then, he will have to vacate the post of the chief minister.
Political observers feel that with the Governor’s move, Thackeray’s induction is a distant possibility. The ball is now in the EC’s court, which has to consider whether the relaxed lockdown conditions are conducive for an election. In his communication, the Governor has requested the EC to soon release the poll schedule to fill up the 9 seats in the Legislative Council that have been lying vacant since April 24. This is necessary to end the current uncertainty in the state.
Earlier, Thackeray had spoken to PM Narendra Modi to highlight the situation regarding his nomination into the legislative council.
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