New Delhi: A Major Challenge for Trinamool Congress
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is currently facing a significant crisis, with a faction claiming to have support from 58 out of 80 MLAs. This situation has put the West Bengal assembly speaker in a crucial position, tasked with identifying which group can be recognized as the “original party.” This scenario echoes the recent developments involving Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
According to the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, party members are discouraged from switching sides. The removal of ‘Paragraph 3’ in 2003 means that claims of a “split” cannot be used as a defense against disqualification. When factions of a political party arise, neither can truly claim to be the original party if both seek disqualification of each other’s members.
In the case of Shiv Sena, the Supreme Court highlighted the speaker’s role in determining the “real” political party during disqualification hearings. The Court noted that the elimination of Paragraph 3 means both factions cannot be deemed the original party. To find out who, if anyone, has willingly left the political party, it’s essential to first identify which faction represents the party.
The speaker must examine the party’s constitution along with any existing rules that define its leadership structure. When presented with different versions of the party constitution from rival factions, the speaker should rely on the version that was submitted to the Election Commission (EC) prior to the split. This approach helps avoid situations where factions may try to change the constitution for their benefit.
Additionally, the Supreme Court advised that the speaker should not make decisions based solely on which group holds a majority in the assembly. “This isn’t just a numbers game,” the court stated. “The overall leadership structure outside the assembly is also important for making this determination.”
