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Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018: Experts opine majority need not be proven in Raj Bhavan

Constitutional experts opine it is the discretion of Governor Vajubhai Vala (80) to appoint the CM.

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The poll results in Karnataka have led to a political game of thrones, with the BJP and the Congress-JD(S) claiming a majority to form the next government in the state. 

Constitutional experts opine it is the discretion of Governor Vajubhai Vala (80) to appoint the CM. However, they were unanimous the CM will have to prove his majority on the floor of the House, not on the lawns of Raj Bhavan.

Lok Sabha former secretary general Subhash Kashyap said that as per the Constitution, the Governor has full authority in this regard. “But after the appointment, the CM has to face the Assembly to prove his majority in the house to run the government.  There are precedents when the single largest party was invited while in some cases pre and post coalition partners were called. A non-member was also invited to form the government,” Kashyap said. 

YP Trivedi, a senior lawyer from the Supreme Court said that by and large the Governor calls the single largest party to first form the government. “Then, he subsequently asks the CM to establish a majority within 15 days,” Trivedi said. 

Commenting on the JD(S) and Congress staking claim to form the government, Trivedi said had it been the pre-poll alliance, the Governor would have been bound to call it a combine. 

Maharashtra’s former advocate general Shrihari Aney said the law is not fully settled yet. “Earlier, the Governor was required to call the party with a majority to form the government. However, subsequent hitherto, the Supreme Court has left it to the discretion of the Governor to call whosoever claims to have a majority. The discretion has to be informed and not an arbitrary one,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Congress leaders from Goa are insisting that the BJP should get a taste of its own medicine. The game played by the BJP to claim power in Goa. It may be recalled that the Congress was the single largest party in Goa, Manipur, and Meghalaya but it was not invited to form the government and was told to prove its majority, while the BJP was called despite having fewer numbers than the Congress.

“We hope that the BJP will follow the precedent set by them in Goa, Manipur, and Meghalaya,” said Girish Chondkar, Goa Congress party president.

Chondkar told DNA that in Goa, the Congress party has 17 MLA, while the BJP has only 12 in the strength of 40. However, the BJP was called to form the government. “The traditional precedent of inviting the single largest party was first violated by the BJP in Goa last year. The BJP must now respect and follow the same rule in Karnataka,” Chondkar said.

He pointed out that BJP minister Arun Jaitley had even endorsed the Goa Governor’s decision, saying that the BJP was single largest, with the help of other smaller parties and independent elected representatives.

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