Amidst Maharashtra’s ongoing battle against the coronavirus pandemic, the war drums for a new showdown are being gradually sounded, as lines are drawn between the Uddhav Thackeray-led government and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Uddhav, who was the first from the Thackeray clan to be elected to a Constitutional position, when he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on November 28, is not a member of the legislature. Hence, he has to be elected to either house by May 27, failing which he will have to resign. By implication, the Chief Minister’s resignation leads to the entire council of ministers stepping down.

Though Uddhav was expected to contest the elections for one of the nine seats for the state legislative council due in April, the coronavirus epidemic led to the polls being postponed. With a crisis looming large, the state cabinet on April 9 recommended that Uddhav be nominated to the upper house from the Governor’s quota. However, despite this, the Governor is yet to act on the cabinet’s decision.

The 78-member Maharashtra legislative council has two vacancies from the Governor’s quota of 12, due to the resignation of Rahul Narvekar of the NCP, and Ramrao Vadkute of the Congress, who joined the BJP. Narvekar, a former Shiv Sena leader, was elected to the assembly from Colaba in Mumbai as a BJP nominee. Earlier, the cabinet had recommended the names of Aditi Nalavade and Shivajirao Garje of the NCP for these seats.

Though the quota is reserved for those with special knowledge or experience in literature, arts, science, and social service, it has more often than not, been used more for political appointments. But, Shiv Sena leaders say Uddhav’s proficiency and reputation as a wildlife and aerial photographer make him an ideal choice for this nomination.

A miffed Sanjay Raut, the party’s Rajya Sabha MP and executive editor of the Sena organ Saamna, has lashed out at the Governor, and pointed to his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) affiliations. Raut stressed that Uddhav would continue to be the Chief Minister even after May 27.

The Shiv Sena and its coalition partner, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), have earlier charged the Governor with running a “parallel government”, and thus, exceeding his brief. The Governor is already in the Shiv Sena’s cross-hairs after the swearing in of former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and incumbent Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a short-lived early morning coup before the Uddhav-led regime took charge.

An almost vicarious, gleeful BJP claims that for the Shiv Sena, this goes much beyond Uddhav’s possible resignation. They claim that in case of a crisis, the Congress, which is the third party in the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), is likely to develop cold feet over continuing in the alliance, and may walk out.

Shiv Sena leaders admit that even when the Congress was compelled by the sheer force of circumstances to join forces with the Sena to stake claim for power, there was a section in India’s Grand Old Party, which was against the tie-up.

This faction, which is said to be allied to former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, fears its image of being a “secular” party being tarnished by an alliance with the pro-Hindutva Shiv Sena.

The Shiv Sena-Congress alliance also carries the baggage of personal attacks by the leaders of the former on the reigning Gandhi family. Congress ministers and legislators in Maharashtra are also upset at them being given the shorter end of the stick by the Shiv Sena and NCP, when it comes to governance, decision-making and taking credit for decisions.

However, the Shiv Sena minister claimed that despite divergent opinions in the Congress, it would have to contend with a vertical split in its ranks if it decided to walk out of the government.

There is another legal point to ponder. The Representation of People Act, 1951, lays down that the election or nomination to a post cannot be done if the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is less than one year. The terms of the two vacant seats in the council end on June 6. BJP leaders say this may be the reason for the Governor dithering when it came to deciding on Uddhav’s nomination.

While hearing a petition by a BJP member opposing the state cabinet’s recommendation for Uddhav, the Bombay High Court has said the Governor is expected to consider the legal validity of the issue.

However, Shiv Sena leaders, while admitting they are on the tenterhooks, claim that the decision must be taken while taking into account the extraordinary situation prevailing in the state. The nomination of Uddhav to the house even for a few days will give them a breather as they will get a window of six more months from June 6 to ensure his re-election or nomination. Sena sources say any brinkmanship or adventurism by the BJP on the issue would be met with legal response.

However, Anant Kalse, former principal secretary of the Maharashtra legislature, has pointed to how the Governor’s position is a sinecure with executive powers being vested with the council of ministers. Hence, the recommendation of the cabinet is binding on the Governor.

Kalse suggested that in case the Governor did not take a decision, the government could approach the Supreme Court or High Court “after exhausting all remedies,” like following up with the Governor and requesting the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct these elections.

At present, the Governor versus Government battle is being fought like that between two swordfishes in the depth of the seas. However, with the May-end deadline looming large, the bubbles from this confrontation may soon begin to surface.

(Dhaval Kulkarni is a Mumbai-based journalist and author of ‘The Cousins Thackeray: Uddhav, Raj and the Shadow of their Senas’. Views are personal).