West Bengal Governor RN Ravi on Thursday dissolved the State Legislative Assembly with effect from May 7 following the completion of its term. While Mamata Banerjee has refused to resign from the top post, the dissolution notification was issued by the Department of Parliamentary Affairs.
The BJP, which secured a historic victory in Bengal, has said the new chief minister would take oath on May 9. The key question now is who will run Bengal from May 8 midnight until the new government is sworn in?
To understand the grey zone, we spoke with former Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishen Kaul. Justice Kaul underlined that Mamata would cease to hold office automatically by the end of the day if she did not formally resign before the expiry of the Assembly’s term.
“This is an unprecedented situation. It has never happened before,” Justice Kaul said.
According to Article 172, the term of a state assembly is fixed at five years from the date of its first sitting. At the end of five years, the Assembly stands automatically dissolved. No separate order is needed from the Governor.
MAMATA REFUSES TO RESIGN
A day after the BJP swept the Bengal elections, Mamata asserted that she would not visit the Raj Bhavan to submit her resignation. The mercurial TMC chief alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission conspired to “loot” votes. Fondly called ‘Didi’, she also claimed that she was kicked and assaulted inside the counting centre in Bhabanipur, from where she lost to her former aide, Suvendu Adhikari.
“If I had lost, I would have resigned. If anyone thinks I will step down under pressure, that is not going to happen. We did not lose the election. Morally, we won,” Mamata said at a press conference on May 5.
Now, as per Article 164, the chief minister and the Council of Ministers hold office “during the pleasure of the governor”.
With the TMC having lost the majority, the governor can dismiss the government and invite the leader of the majority party to stake a claim.
Thus, it is now up to Governor RN Ravi to decide. Options are, however, limited.
OPTIONS BEFORE GOVERNOR
Justice Kaul underscored that the Governor can decide to go by the convention and ask Mamata to continue in a caretaker capacity until the next chief minister takes oath.
The BJP, which is yet to announce its chief minister-elect, has said the council of ministers would take oath on May 9, which is celebrated as Rabindra Jayanti. Rabindra Jayanti is the birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
The second option is to make a temporary administrative arrangement for a day.
“The governor has to take a call on whether he will follow the convention of asking her to continue till the next chief minister takes oath. He may also make some arrangement for a day till the new government takes oath on May 9,” Justice Kaul said.
The former Supreme Court judge pointed out that a status quo arrangement might already be in place, considering the acrimonious past between the governor and the TMC government.
“The Election Commission has deployed central forces and the Governor has issued orders that no files will move,” he said.
Thus, in the hours leading up to midnight, all eyes will be on Governor RN Ravi. If no formal continuation order is issued, Bengal may well enter a rare constitutional limbo as the clock strikes 12.
The development has placed the Raj Bhavan at the centre of attention, similar to how the governor’s role has assumed importance in Tamil Nadu.
With no party securing a majority, Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar has turned down actor-politician Vijay’s bid to stake a claim to form the government. At the heart of the issue is Vijay’s inability to show that he has the support of 118 MLAs in the House.
For Bengal, the clock is ticking.
(With inputs from Aneesha Mathur)
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