Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray

The Maharashtra Cabinet Thursday recommended Governor Bhagat Singh Khoshyari to nominate Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as a member of the Legislative Council through the Governor quota to avoid a constitutional crisis in the middle of the coronavirus lockdown.

As per Article 164 (4) of the Constitution, any minister who is not a member of the House needs to get elected to the Legislative Assembly within six months of appointment. Thackeray who was sworn in on November 28 has time till May 27 to get elected to the legislature, failing which, he will have to step down as the CM.

The Election Commission had deferred the elections to the nine legislative council seats that will fall vacant on April 24 in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

The cabinet meeting was chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Thackeray did not attend the meeting. “Two seats from Governor quota are vacant. It is mandatory to become a member of one of the two houses (Legislative Assembly and Council). So, the cabinet recommended Thackeray’s name to be nominated on one of the seats to avoid the constitutional crisis,” said Nawab Malik, Minority Affair Minister.

The terms of as many as nine members of the legislative council, who were elected by legislative assembly members, will end on April 24. This includes two from Congress, three each from the NCP and BJP, and one from Shiv Sena. An official from the office of the chief electoral officer said one month is required to complete the election process whenever the polls are announced