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Coalition governments of Congress-groups in three states

Different yard-sticks to choose Prime Minister and Chief Ministers in Congress

It refers to extra-ordinary time taken by Congress high-command in selecting three Chief Ministers for the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where the party won in recently-held elections, with reports of Rajasthan having 15 ministers each from rival groups of Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot. Even for Chhattisgarh, media-reports indicate that formula is evolved to have two different Chief Ministers for half-term each. It looks like that Congress-won states have a sort of compromised coalition governments, rather than governments with a single-party rule.

It is significant that party-leaders look their young party-President with little experience as future Prime Minister of the nation while arguments in selecting Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath as Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh against rival Sachin Pilot and Jyoti Raje Scindia was that the selection was done on basis of experience. This is a contradictory theory of Congress party in selecting Prime Minister and Chief Ministers.

Congress is not the only party to face such evils of strong party-groupism. Best is to select Chief Minister by secret and Compulsory votes of all MLAs through EVMs on nominations signed by at least 34-percent MLAs. Members not participating in such election may lose their voting-right in assembly though retaining membership. Then the largest party or alliance will be compelled to field a candidate which may have acceptance even in opposition-camp. Such an elected Chief Minister may only be removed by same process but with compulsion to name alternate leader in the same motion, thus ruling out every possibility of hung assembly and unstable government.

 

MADHU AGRAWAL

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