Supreme Court Dismisses Uddhav Thackeray’s Plea To Reinstate Him As Maharashtra CM

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea filed by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray seeking to be reinstated to his post. A bench of Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and C.T. Ravikumar said that Thackeray had resigned from the post of Chief Minister and hence, he could not be reinstated. The bench also said that the floor test conducted by the Eknath Shinde government was valid and that the new government had the support of the majority of MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly. Thackeray had filed the plea after he was ousted from power in June 2022 following a rebellion by a section of Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde. The rebels had accused Thackeray of abandoning the party’s Hindutva ideology and of mismanaging the state government. The Supreme Court’s decision is a major setback for Thackeray and his supporters. It is also a victory for Shinde and his faction, who have now been formally recognized as the Shiv Sena by the Election Commission of India. The political crisis in Maharashtra had lasted for over a month and had led to a great deal of uncertainty and instability in the state. The Supreme Court’s decision has now brought an end to the crisis and has paved the way for the new government to function smoothly.