AIADMK issues whip ahead of crucial floor test

The AIADMK seems to be in a conundrum, since in the absence of a whip, the OPS group is free to vote for whoever they want

Tamil Nadu will witness a crucial trust vote on Saturday. Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy will take the the trust vote in the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly at around 11 am. Palanisamy claims he has the numbers and he will need the support of 118 MLAs to win the trust vote and stay on as chief minister.

Palanisamy claims he has the support of 124 MLAs, and going by this, it appears he would win comfortably. The problem for him, though, could be posed by the O Panneerselvam group which claims to have the support of 10 MLAs including him. While Paneerselvam has been suspended from the party, the rest continue to be members of the AIADMK. So what happens if they vote against the government?

Since OPS has been suspended from the party, he may not obey the whip. But in doing so, he could be disqualified from the party. He however is not barred from voting in the assembly since he is still an MLA.

Once a whip is issued and the OPS group disobeys it, the same would tantamount to defection. There are several judgments in this regard which says that a whip is issued by a political party to its elected members so that discipline is issued and horse trading is prevented.

The law states that a whip issued by a political party to its elected members is to ensure discipline and prevent horse-trading. Leaders who suffer on account of the disobedience of the whip, brand the requirement to comply with a whip is a 'matter of discipline and a curb on corrupt practices'.

Would the OPS group disobey the whip?

If a whip is issued and the OPS group decides to disobey it, then they are liable to be disqualified. However, in the absence of a whip, the members are not bound by any rule and are free to vote whichever way possible. For the AIADMK, this is a double-edged sword and they would be in a dilemma whether to issue a whip or not.

If the OPS group disobeys the whip, then they are liable to be disqualified from the party. The AIADMK may not be able to afford such a scenario since the majority is a thin one. If eight more members from the Palanisamy camp cross over, then the government becomes a minority. At such a time it would not be feasible for the party to antagonise any more members. Moreover, there are back channel talks on to lure the members in the OPS camp back into their fold.

Not issuing a whip too could have its own consequences. With allegations that the AIADMK MLAs are being held captive at a resort, none are sure of who the loyalists are. In the absence of a whip, there is a good chance that some more members would want to side with the OPS camp and topple this government by not voting in its favour during the trust vote.

Hence, in all probability a whip will be issued to ensure that the AIADMK MLAs vote in favour of the government. The whip may be issued a few hours before the trust vote and the same would be conveyed to all members of the AIADMK.

What is a floor test?

Under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, if a governor feels that the state machinery has broken down, he can request the President to take control of the state. However the first option before the governor would be to order a floor test.

The Supreme Court had ruled that a Constitutional machinery must be tested on the floor of the house. In this case the chief minister would have to prove his majority on the floor of the house. He would move a vote of confidence and will have to win a majority among those present. There are 235 seats in Tamil Nadu, of which, one is vacant, following Jayalalithaa's death. Currently, there are 234 seats available of which the AIADMK has 135. The OPS camp has 10 MLAs. The DMK has 89, the Congress, 8 and the Indian Union Muslim League, 1. Palanisamy has the support of 124 and this indicates that winning the floor test is not tough for him.

Not the first floor test in Tamil Nadu:

This is not the first time that Tamil Nadu or the AIADMK is witnessing a floor test. Back in 1998, following the death of then chief minister M G Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa and MGR's wife Janaki claimed the party. Legislators of both sides were kept in resorts.

Janaki met the gand claimed majority. There was a floor test held and in the midst of all the chaos the rival factions came to blows with each other. Janaki went on to win the floor test. However, her government was dismissed after the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi termed the floor a 'slur on democracy'.

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