Cong stakes claim to form govt in Goa, Manipur; RJD in Bihar

Patna/Panaji/Imphal, May 18 

Seeking a uniform rule for a Governor to follow in a hung assembly, the RJD in Bihar and the Congress in Goa and Manipur today staked claim to form the government, citing the example of Karnataka where the BJP was invited after it emerged as the single largest party.

However, questions were raised on the surprising move by the two allies, more than a year after elections were held to the respective assemblies which appeared to be aimed at embarrassing the BJP. BJP’s Goa state unit president Vinay Tendulkar called the Congress move a “stunt”.

Also, the numbers were completely in NDA’s favour in all the 3 states. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, accompanied by the Congress, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and CPI(ML) leaders, had a meeting with Governor Satya Pal Malik during which he demanded that his party be invited to form a government in Bihar since it was the single largest party and also constituted the single largest pre-poll alliance.

“We met the Governor and submitted a memorandum stating that we have support of 111 MLAs. If we are asked for floor test, we are confident of winning, as more legislators are likely to vote in our favour,” he told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan in Patna.

Yadav, who is the Opposition Leader in the Assembly, said, “The point we are trying to make is that there has to be one rule in the country. If the Karnataka Governor’s decision to invite the BJP on the ground of it being the single largest party was proper, then the same yardstick should be applied to Bihar. The RJD, by virtue of its being the single largest party in the state, should be allowed to form government here.” The RJD was relegated to opposition last year after the JD(U) walked away from the three-party alliance, which also involved the Congress, and joined hands with the BJP to form a new government under Nitish Kumar. Assembly polls in Bihar were held in November 2015.

In the 243-member Assembly, the RJD is the single-largest party with 80 MLAs, while JD(U) has 71 and the BJP has 53. NDA constituents LJP and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party have two seats each. The Congress has 27 MLAs. — PTI