Why has Maharashtra govt decided to hold monsoon session in Nagpur?

devendra-fadnavis-pti (File) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis | PTI

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's claim that the monsoon session of Maharashtra legislature was being held in Nagpur because of the possibility of Lok Sabha elections being advanced to December 2018 hasn't exactly surprised anyone in Mumbai.

The chances that the election may be held earlier than May is the talk in the corridors of power in Mantralaya ever since the budget session of the state legislature in February this year.

A senior Congress legislator told THE WEEK that in their party meetings, they too are discussing the possibility of elections being held in December.

"However, this does not seem to be a logical reason behind holding monsoon session in Nagpur. We were told that the financial year will change from April-March to January-December and the Centre has plans to start new financial year from January 1, 2019. So, there is an urgent need to get supplementary demands passed. The winter session in Nagpur is held for two weeks, whereas monsoon session lasts four weeks and there is more time to carry out business, " he said.

He also pointed out that the Manora state guest house, where nearly half of the legislators stay during legislature sessions, is undergoing renovation. "The legislators had been told to vacate their rooms at Manora guest house in February and the renovation work may take more than a year. We were told that that is one of the reasons why Monsoon session was being held in Nagpur," said the Congress leader.

He, however, said the letter received by legislators informing them about upcoming session does not mention any reason. It merely states that the session will be held in Nagpur from July 4.

Another reason for holding monsoon session in Nagpur is said to be the demand raised by Vidarbha legislators.

The state government had appointed a sub-committee of three ministers, comprising Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Girish Bapat and Industries Minister Subhash Desai. Barring Desai of Shiv Sena, which had opposed holding monsoon session in Nagpur, the other ministers were in favor of holding the session in Nagpur. Mungantiwar himself belongs to Chandrapur in Vidarbha region.

Madhav Bhandari, chief spokesperson of the BJP, said it was a case of pure hallucinations to express possibility of early elections in December.

Anant Kalse, principal secretary of the state legislature, said the decision to hold the session in Nagpur was as per the recommendation of the three member sub-committee of the cabinet. "There is no other reason. It was decided by that sub committee."