Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 5 

The BJP may have managed to contain its “Constitutional crisis” in Uttarakhand through the resignation of Tirath Singh from the post of the Chief Minister, it remains to be seen if the same argument/logic can be applied to Mamata Banerjee to corner her in West Bengal.      

Speculations are rife as Mamata has been asking the Election Commission to announce dates for by-polls to vacant seats in West Bengal. She also took a swipe at the ECI, saying that perhaps the Constitutional body is waiting for the Prime Minister’s nod and “appealed” to Narendra Modi “to allow the by-polls to be held”.

Amid the ongoing cat and mouse between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP in West Bengal, an alleged visit by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari to the residence of the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta has led to another political storm in the State with the ruling party writing to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his removal (Mehta's)

Notably, Mamata, like Tirath Singh, is not an elected member of the Legislative Assembly, or an MLA, which is mandatory to become CM or a minister in any state.

As per rules, Tirath Singh who assumed office on March 10, had to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of Uttarakhand in six months which was before September 10. Similarly, Banerjee, who took oath on May 5, needs to be elected to the West Bengal Assembly before November 5.

Article 164(4) of the Constitution says, “A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the Legislature of the State shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister.”

West Bengal, like Uttarakhand, does not have a Legislative Council, or an upper house.

Now, the difference between Tirath Singh and Mamata is that the former had to quit since by-polls on two vacant seats there could not be held before September 10 because the Assembly polls are scheduled in less than a year.

This cannot be used in West Bengal as Assembly polls there are almost five years away.

However, interestingly, sources say a request could have “easily been made by either the Uttarakhand government or the CM on the grounds that by-polls are necessary for them to meet the Constitutional requirements”. But the buzz is that neither Tirath Singh nor the Uttarakhand government petitioned the ECI to hold by-elections to allow him to become a member of the Assembly before the due date.

Notably, in a similar situation in 2020 when elections were put on the hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Maharashtra government has asked for relaxation in restrictions to allow the election of CM Uddhav Thackeray. Though later, he was nominated to the legislative council.

West Bengal like Uttarakhand does not have a Legislative Council.  The legislative council there was abolished around 1969.

Currently, only some states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, have an upper house.

The TMC government has approved its setting up as it was a promise made by the party in its election manifesto.

However, it is not entirely in the hands of the state government as the permission of the Parliament is also required.

Mamata has also moved the Calcutta high court challenging Suvendu Adhikari’s win in Nandigram.