Maharashtra political crisis: Governor asks Uddhav Thackeray government to face floor test tomorrow

BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Tuesday evening

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to prove majority in the floor test on June 30 amid rebellion by a group of Shiv Sena lawmakers led by Eknath Shinde.

The development comes hours after former chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis called on the governor on Tuesday evening and told him that the MVA government must face an immediate floor test since it has lost the majority support in the House.

READ | Uddhav Thackeray must face floor test, has lost majority, says Fadnavis after meeting Governor

The governor has written to Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat, calling for a special session at 11 am.

"A special session of the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha shall be summoned on 30.06.2022 at 11 am with the only agenda of a trust vote against the chief minister and the proceedings of the floor test shall be concluded in any case 5 pm on 30.06.2002," Koshyari said in the letter.

The proceedings of the trust vote will be videographed through an independent agency and submitted to the Governor.

The present political scenario unfolding in the state of Maharashtra paints a very disturbing picture,"

The MVA government  challenge the Governor's move in the Supreme Court in what is being termed as its 'last ditch' effort to save the government. The hearing of the case is expected to come up at 5 pm today.

Maharashtra govt will have to move Supreme Court against Governor B S Koshyari's letter mandating Uddhav Thackeray-led dispensation to face floor test on Thursday: Congress veteran Prithviraj Chavan

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 29, 2022

The Shiv Sena rebels and independent MLAs, led by Eknath Shinde are expected to leave Guwahati today. The group is headed to Goa, according to sources, where from they will reach Mumbai on June 30 to be part of the floor test. Shinde has claimed that he has the support of nearly 50 MLAs, 40 of them from the Sena and the rest Independents.

Tuesday's meeting of Fadnavis with the Governor marked a shift in the stance of the BJP, which has otherwise been in the wait-and-watch mode since the crisis broke out over a week ago. Earlier in the day , Fadnavis had in Delhi met BJP chief JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah triggering speculation that the BJP was about to stake claim to form government in Maharashtra.

The Shiv Sena rebels, led by Shinde, have already left the hotel in Guwahati where they have been staying for over a week now. The group is is moving to Goa for now where from they will reach Mumbai to be part of floor test on June 30.

Also, read | Uddhav Thackeray govt in trouble? Here’s how the numbers stack up in Maharashtra Assembly

If the Shinde camp has support of 51 MLAs, as he has claimed, the MVA strength in the House way below the halfway mark of 144. The present strength of the Maharashtra assembly is 287, after the death of a Sena MLA last month Before the rebellion, the MVA tally was 152 – Shiv Sena (55), NCP (53), Congress (44). The BJP has 106 MLAs in the assembly.

The political crisis in Maharashtra erupted on June 21, after more than a dozen MLAs of the Shiv Sena - a constituent of the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state - went to Gujarat's Surat and turned incommunicado.

The MVA government, through Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, had sent disqualification notices to 16 Sena rebel MLAs last week. The action against them, however, has been stayed by the Supreme Court till July 12.