50 of 54 MLAs back in Sharad Pawar's camp, confirms NCP

Mumbai, Nov 23: After a day of dramatic twists, the Nationalist Congress Partyconfirmed that 50 of its 54 MLAs have expressed support for the party.

Addressing the press conference, NCP leader Nawab Malik said '5 of our MLAs are not in contact with us, 6 are about to arrive&rest have arrived. On the basis of numbers we have, we'll defeat the government in election of speaker itself. After which, Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government will definitely be formed in Maharashtra'

Ajit, nephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar jumped to the BJP with some legislators and took oath as deputy of Devendra Fadnavis who sworn in as chief minister for a second term.

In the 288-member Assembly, the BJP has 105 MLAs, the Shiv Sena 56, the NCP 54 and the Congress 44. The halfway mark is 145.

The coup of Ajit virtually sabotaged the prospects of the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress forming a government with Uddhav Thackeray as chief minister of the prospective alliance.