Haryana Polls: The Haryana Assembly dissolved 52 days before the scheduled time; Why did the Saini government have to recommend this?

Following the recommendation of the Haryana government, Governor Bandaru Dattatreya dissolved the 14th Assembly on Thursday. Its notification was also issued by the Assembly Secretariat. Now CM Naib Singh Saini will work as the caretaker CM till the next government is formed. He will not be able to make any policy decisions. However, he will be authorized to make decisions in case of emergency. The term of the Naib Saini government was till November 3. In this sense, the assembly has been dissolved about 52 days in advance.

What is happening in Haryana before the elections?

The Council of Ministers led by Chief Minister Naib Saini on Wednesday recommended the Governor to dissolve the Assembly. This decision has been taken so that the House can be avoided from being convened before the expiry of the period of six months from the last meeting of the Assembly. The last meeting of the Haryana Assembly was held on March 13 and there was a need to convene a session before September 12. As soon as the Assembly was dissolved, the constitutional crisis for the Naib Singh Saini government was averted. After getting the approval of the Governor, he will be in the role of caretaker Chief Minister.

Why was the assembly session not called?

The last session of the Haryana Assembly was called on March 13, during which Nayab Saini won the trust vote as the Chief Minister. After this, in early June, the independent MLAs supporting the government withdrew their support. These included Sombir Sangwan, MLA from Charkhi Dadri, Randhir Golan from Pundri, and Dharampal Gondar from Nilokheri.

Before the withdrawal of support by the MLAs, the Jannayak Janata Party with 10 seats had also separated from the government in March. After the changed political situation, the opposition started demanding a special session for the floor test, saying that the government was in the minority. Congress and Dushyant Chautala's JJP wrote a letter to the Governor demanding a special session where the government could prove its majority. They claimed that after the withdrawal of support by three independent MLAs, the government does not have the majority figure, which can be proved through a floor test.

At that time it was argued that the government does not have the majority figure and it depends on the Governor of Haryana or the Speaker of the Assembly whether to conduct a floor test or not. However, former CM Manohar Lal had said, 'We are ready for the floor test. We are in absolute majority and we also have the signatures of those MLAs who stand with us.'

Later some JJP MLAs also supported the government. Amidst preparations for the Lok Sabha elections and then the assembly elections, the alleged political crisis in Haryana went into cold storage. Now to avoid the constitutional crisis related to convening the assembly session, the government decided to dissolve the assembly.

Why was it necessary to dissolve the assembly?

To understand the latest situation of the Haryana Legislative Assembly, we spoke to constitutional expert and Supreme Court lawyer Virag Gupta. Virag said that according to Article-174 (1) of the Constitution, there cannot be a gap of more than 6 months between two sessions of the Assembly. The last session of the Assembly in Haryana was called on 13 March 2024. Therefore, it was mandatory to call a second session before 12 September 2024. Such a constitutional crisis has not come before in any state of the country. Therefore, it became constitutionally mandatory to dissolve the assembly prematurely.'

How long will Saini remain the acting CM, what if no one gets a majority in the assembly elections?

In response to this question, lawyer Virag said that if no party gets a majority in the election, the governor can invite the leader of the largest party to form the government. In such a situation, Saini can remain the acting Chief Minister till the swearing-in of the new Chief Minister. It will be necessary for the new Chief Minister to prove a majority in the assembly within the stipulated period.

Can there be a situation during President's rule, what will happen during that time?

In response to this question, Virag said that after the elections, no party should claim to form the government. Or the governor asks the leader of the largest party to give a list of MLAs with majority and they are unable to give it. In such a situation, the President's rule can be imposed in the state. In those circumstances, it will be important to see whether the President's rule has been imposed after the formation of the assembly and the swearing-in of the MLAs. In case the assembly is not dissolved, a new phase of the defection of Aayaram-Gayaram may begin after the imposition of the President's rule.