india

Updated: Nov 13, 2019 21:09 IST

No political party — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress — is in a position to form a government in Maharashtra, governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari wrote to the central government on Tuesday morning, preparing the ground for the 288-member assembly to be placed in “suspended animation” and President’s Rule to be imposed, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said.

The governor’s report reached North Block at noon on Tuesday. The Union cabinet, which typically meets every Wednesday, met soon after — at about 1.30 pm — to take a decision on the governor’s recommendation to impose President’s Rule.

Senior cabinet ministers like Prakash Javadekar, Thawar Chand Gehlot and Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ were not in Delhi and were not part of the meeting where the cabinet accepted the governor’s advice. President Ram Nath Kovind, who was in Punjab, gave his assent soon after he returned to Delhi in the evening.

After the BJP declined to form the government and the Sena failed to get letters of support from the NCP and the Congress, Koshyari had on Monday night asked the Sharad Pawar-led NCP to express its “ability and willingness” to stake its claim for forming a government by 8.30 pm on Tuesday. Prior to sending his report to the Centre, governor Koshyari also rejected a request by the NCP for more time to garner the requisite numbers for forming the government.

The governor, in his report, also said that a fortnight after results of the assembly elections had been announced, his efforts to install a stable government had not yielded “any result.” Importantly, the governor did not directly express apprehensions about the possibility of political “horse trading”, a senior MHA official who did not want to be named said.

The governor, in his report, also underlined that he had made attempts to explore the possibility of government formation by communicating with all political parties who could have formed government in alliance with other parties. Unfortunately, the governor said, his attempts had failed, the MHA said.

The governor, in his report, told the Centre, “Keeping in view the situation, circumstances and ground realities, the governor is satisfied that the situation has arisen in the state of Maharashtra in which it is impossible to constitute and/ or form a stable government in the state,” the MHA said.

The governor also said the he is “left with no alternative” but to recommend central rule and that the assembly be kept under suspended animation.