The Congress party today threw back at the BJP, the examples of Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya, three states where the Congress was not invited by the Governor to form government despite being the single-largest party, but a post-poll coalition including the saffron party got the invitation to do so.
“The Constitution of India, the laws and ethics are clear that any coalition, even if it is a post-poll coalition, if it has a clear majority, then the Governor, as per the Constitution, has no other option but to invite that alliance to form government. Hence we expect that the alliance of JD(S)-Congress is invited to form government,” said Randeep Surjewala, chairman of the AICC communications department.
The Congress, which ended as a far second to the BJP in the assembly elections in Karnataka, has along with the JD(S) met governor to stake claim to form government. The BJP is likely to stop well short of the majority mark of 113, though it has emerged as the single largest party in the election.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is nowhere near the majority mark, now in a conspiratorial manner, is citing the S.R. Bommai case (as per which, the single largest party has to be invited to form government) to argue that it should be invited to form government,” Surjewala said.
The Congress cited the examples of Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya, where in the recent past the BJP robbed it of a chance to form government despite it being the single largest party.
In Goa, in the Assembly elections in 2017, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party with 18 MLAs in the 40-member assembly. The BJP had 12 MLAs, but it was invited to form government as part of a post-poll coalition. Similarly, in Manipur, again in 2017, the Congress won 28 seats, compared to 21 of the BJP out of a total of 60. However, the BJP-led post-poll alliance was invited to form government.
The Congress also cited the instance of Meghalaya, where in March 2018, the Congress won 21 seats in the Assembly elections, and the BJP won only two. However, the BJP and its allies were invited to form government.
The party also referred to the Supreme Court's verdict in the Goa case to buttress its point. The Congress had challenged in the apex court, the decision of the governor to invite the BJP to form government in Goa. However, the court ruled that the governor has discretion in cases like these, and inviting a post-poll coalition, if it has the majority, is in order.