Voter seeks Bombay HC direction to BJP, Sena to form Maharashtra govt

MUMBAI: A woman voter from Maharashtra on Monday moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the BJP and Shiv Sena to stand by their pre-poll alliance and form government in the state as they got the "public mandate".

Priya Chauhan (46), a resident of neighbouring Thane district, in her petition also sought a direction to the Centre and the state to refrain from appointing anyone as chief minister from the post-election alliances of the Sena- Congress-NCP, and BJP-Ajit Pawar.

The plea, filed through advocate Nitin Satpute, claims the petitioner is aggrieved by the BJP and Shiv Sena's "betrayal".

The plea has also sought an FIR to be lodged against the BJP and Shiv Sena for failing to form the government, saying it amounts to a breach of the trust of voters and cheating.

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"Both the BJP and Shiv Sena have betrayed the trust of voters. They have not complied with their promises and post elections changed their alliances," the plea said.

The petition, which will come up for hearing in due course, claimed the BJP, facing the prospect of a non-BJP alliance staking claim to power in Maharashtra, resorted to political machinations.

The petition also raised questions over the manner in which the governor sought revocation of the President's rule in Maharashtra and allowed swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister.

"The governor has acted in a partisan manner and made a mockery of the high office of the governor," it said.

"The governor's actions on the intervening night of November 22 and November 23, culminating into the swearing-in (of Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister) are a textbook example of the governor acting at the behest of a political party in power at the Centre," the plea alleged.

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The governor has allowed himself to be a "pawn in BJP's illegal usurpation of power", it added.

In another significant development, the Supreme Court on Monday heard the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine's plea against the governor's decision to swear in Fadnavis as chief minister and said it will give its order on Maharashtra government formation on Tuesday.

Fadnavis and NCP's Ajit Pawar were sworn in as chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at 8 am on Saturday at a hush-hush ceremony in Raj Bhavan here, leading to the lifting of the President's rule in the state.

The BJP was propped up by Ajit Pawar who revolted against the NCP headed by his uncle Sharad Pawar.

The BJP and the Sena, which fought the last month's Assembly polls in an alliance, secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats respectively. The Sena, however, broke its three-decade-long ties with the BJP after the latter declined to share the chief minister's post. The NCP and Congress won 54 and 44 seats respectively.