President's rule was imposed today in poll-bound Maharashtra, three days after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) snapped its 15-year-old ties with the Congress reducing the Prithviraj Chavan government to a minority.
President Pranab Mukherjee signed the proclamation for imposition of central rule in Maharashtra, a day after the Union Cabinet recommended such a step, a Home Ministry spokesperson said.
The brief Cabinet meeting yesterday was chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is away in the US.
Following NCP's decision to part ways, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had resigned on Friday. His resignation was accepted by Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao yesterday.
In his report to the Centre, the Governor had recommended imposition of President's rule in the state.
Congress immediately opposed the governnment decision, saying with a little over two weeks left for the October 15 Assembly polls in the state, it was unwarranted.
"The Chief Minister resigned on grounds of morality...A caretaker CM should have been made in the state. There was no need for President's rule. The elections are due in about 15 days," Congress leader Rashid Alvi said.
After the withdrawal of the NCP with its 62 legislators, the Congress-led Democratic Front government was reduced to a minority in the 288-member house, as it had only 82 MLAs.
NCP had on Thursday called off its alliance with Congress accusing Chavan of neglecting it and stalling talks over seat-sharing.
NCP's insistence on the two parties contesting an equal number of the state's 288 assembly seats and the demand for rotational chief ministership for half of the government's five-year term if the alliance retained power were the sticking points during the seat-sharing talks which eventually led to the collapse of the alliance.
With the Shiv Sena also ending its 25-year-old alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra, the state is now headed for at least a four-cornered contest in the Assembly polls.
