Hung assembly in a state election. Governor calls minority party to form government. The Supreme Court orders a floor test for the incumbent to prove majority. The governor breaks convention and appoints junior member as pro tem speaker.
Drawing an uncanny similarity with the Karnataka standoff, Jharkhand’s political deadlock of 2005 saw Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party exchange roles.
In 2005, the then Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibte Razi gave the UPA – which emerged as the minority in the Assembly election – an unfairly long time to manage majority and also broke the constitutional convention of appointing the most senior member as pro tem speaker and chose a junior UPA member for the post instead.
In a Hung Assembly, Governor Calls UPA to Form Govt
When the Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the BJP's BS Yeddyurappa to form government despite the party failing to secure the half-way mark, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and BJP chief Amit Shah traded barbs with Gandhi calling the governor's decision the "murder of democracy".
Similar accusations were made 13 years ago when the then Jharkhand governor Syed Sibte Razi, a long-term Congress loyalist, invited United Progressive Alliance to form the government even though they fell short of the majority mark.
With a hung assembly in view, both the BJP-led NDA and the UPA staked claim to form government.
The results as it stood had the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 30 seats accompanied by the six MLAs from its alliance partner Janata Dal (United) .The Congress, on the other hand, secured 9 MLAs with 17 from JMM, 7 from RJD.
The BJP had claimed that it was armed with the support of the majority of the 12 Independents who held the key to the government formation.
Although the NDA nominee Arjun Munda appeared closer to forming the government, the then governor Razi called JMM chief and UPA's CM candidate Shibu Soren to form the government and initially gave him 20 days to prove majority.
SC Advances Date of Floor Test
After the then President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam had summoned Razi in the wake of the controversy over his decision, the governor had advanced the date for the floor test from 21 March to 15 March.
Amid further allegations of "toppling the constitutional and democratic order in the country", the judiciary had to once again step in to resolve the deadlock between legislature and executive.
In a major embarrassment to the governor, the Supreme Court, while hearing the petition from Arjun Munda, ordered a floor test in the Assembly on 11 March, instead of 15 March, to allow each of the alliances to prove majority in the Assembly.
Failed to Prove Majority, UPA’s Soren Resigns, Munda Sworn in
Following his failure to prove majority on the floor of the Assembly on 11 March, Soren resigned from his position and BJP's Arjun Munda was asked to take over as the chief minister.
Embarassed by the political chaos, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior Congress leaders convinced Soren to step down. Soren promised to come back and avenge his "humiliation".
Breaking Convention of Pro Tem Speaker Appointment
Razi, came under scrutiny once again when he appointed junior Congress legislator Pradeep Balmuchu as a pro tem speaker for the floor test.
The BJP cried foul saying names of senior legislators were ignored.
Following objections raised over his powers to hold a vote of confidence, Balmuchu resigned and senior BJP MLA Karia Munda was sworn in as the pro tem speaker, just a day before NDA was scheduled to prove majority in the house.
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