The crisis deepens in the chair of Tirath Singh Rawat, what other option does BJP have?

The political crisis has started deepening in Uttarakhand and the reason behind this is the Chief Minister of the state, Tirath Singh Rawat. Actually, Tirath Singh Rawat has to be an elected member of the assembly within 6 months, but Congress says that Tirath Singh Rawat cannot contest elections now. Political agitation has started increasing in the state now.

Let us tell you that Tirath Singh Rawat was sworn in as the BJP State Legislature Party on 10 March. In such a situation, Rawat has time till September 10 to be elected as an MLA in the by-election, but due to the corona virus, there is uncertainty about the by-elections in the state whether the by-election can be held within that time limit. and or not.

What does the constitution say?

Now you must first know what the law says on this issue? According to Article 164(4) of the Constitution, “A Minister who is not a member of the Legislature of a State for a period of six consecutive months shall cease to be a Minister on the expiration of that period”. Therefore, to continue as the Chief Minister, Rawat has to be elected as an MLA before 10 September.

At the same time, elections are already to be held in Uttarakhand in March 2022. Now if we look at Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, under this, elections cannot be held only when there is one year for the general election and only 9 months are left for the completion of the term of the assembly.

BJP can choose someone else for the post

Let us tell you that Tirath Singh Rawat became the Chief Minister of the state in place of Trivendra Singh Rawat. Tirath Singh Rawat was elected to the Lok Sabha from Garhwal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He has not yet resigned from the Lok Sabha and remains the MP of Garhwal, according to the Lok Sabha website.

At the same time, if BJP sources are to be believed, the central leadership is in discussion with legal and constitutional experts. A BJP leader said, “A suggestion came that the party may choose someone else for the top post as there is a restriction on the return of the same person to the post.”

The situation that arose in Maharashtra last year

A senior BJP leader said that after the criticism during the recent assembly elections, both the Election Commission and the government are taking precautions. In such a situation, it is possible to hold elections only after the situation becomes normal. Has such a situation arisen in any state of the country before?

Let us tell you that this kind of situation was seen in Maharashtra last year. The chief minister of the state, Uddhav Thackeray, needed to be elected to the state legislature. The by-election was made uncertain due to the pandemic. Thackeray initially tried to nominate himself to the Legislative Council by using a provision that allows the governor to nominate 12 members but the move was blocked by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

The crisis was finally resolved with Thackeray himself being elected as a member of the Legislative Council.

Is there any exception in the law in which it is possible to hold elections?

The Representation of the People Act, 1951 adds another dimension to the challenging situation. Section 151A allows two exceptions for holding by-elections to fulfill the requirement of Article 164(4) of the Constitution. It states that there is no need to hold a by-election first if the remaining term of the member in respect of any vacancy is less than one year. The Second Election Commission, in consultation with the Central Government, certifies that it is difficult to hold by-elections within the said period.

The term of the current Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, which began in March 2017, is less than a year to end. Both these options would mean that Rawat would have to change.