In the midst of the current political crisis in Maharashtra, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has requested the Election Commission to hold elections on 9 vacant seats in the Legislative Council. This information was given by Raj Bhavan on Thursday evening. Actually, Uddhav Thackeray is not a member of the Assembly or the Legislative Council at this time. He became the Chief Minister of the state without contesting elections.
According to Article 164 (4) of the Constitution, if a person from outside the House becomes a Minister or Chief Minister, then it is mandatory to become a member of the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council (the states which are in) within six months of the swearing-in.
In his letter, the governor said that the central government has announced many relaxations regarding the enforcement of lockdown in the country and as such the elections of Legislative Council can be taken up with certain guidelines.
Due to the corona virus epidemic, it is not possible to get a by-election to the assembly or election to the Legislative Council. In such a situation, the proposal has been sent twice to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on behalf of the state cabinet.
Uddhav Thackeray also spoke to PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday after receiving no response from Raj Bhavan. The latest update from Rajbhavan came after the phone call.