SUSPENDED ANIMATION: SAFE HAVEN FOR RULING BJP; WILL SAVE FROM CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS 

Suspended Animation of the Legislative Assembly:

What it means:

The legislative assembly remains in existence legally, but its operations are halted temporarily. The assembly does not conduct any legislative activities like passing laws, debates, or any normal functioning.

The assembly is not dissolved, meaning that it can be revived if conditions improve or if the state government is re-established without requiring fresh elections.

This is in contrast to dissolution, where the legislative assembly is permanently dissolved, and new elections must be held to form a new assembly.

Why suspended animation?

1. Flexibility: It allows for the possibility of restoring normalcy without holding elections immediately. If the situation in the state improves or a political solution is found, the assembly can resume functioning without going through the electoral process.

2. Stability: It ensures that the elected representatives are not immediately removed, providing a chance for the democratic process to resume if the crisis is resolved in a short time.

3. Safe haven for ruling party: Suspended animation may be the safest way to address the issue in Manipur for the ruling party, as it allows the central government to directly manage the situation. This approach ensures that the BJP to choose their new Chief Minister without lapsed of State Assembly, will prevent from Constitutional crisis in Manipur.

Process of Imposing President’s Rule and Suspended Animation:

1. When the President’s Rule is imposed, all executive functions of the state government are taken over by the President, who acts through the Governor.

2. If the state assembly is not dissolved and is placed under suspended animation:

a) The central government effectively runs the state through the Governor, but the legislative assembly remains intact.

b) This provides a constitutional mechanism to hold off from dissolving the assembly immediately, allowing time to assess whether governance can be restored.

Suspended animation in the Indian constitutional framework is a mechanism to temporarily halt the functioning of state legislative assemblies during exceptional situations. This allows for the possibility of governance being restored without having to dissolve the assembly and call for fresh elections. It provides constitutional flexibility to deal with political instability while maintaining the structure of representative democracy.

The Maharashtra political crisis of 2019 is a notable case of President’s Rule and the suspended animation of the state legislative assembly. The crisis emerged from a complex post-election scenario involving multiple political parties and a struggle to form a stable government.