Can Uddhav survive floor test?

Mumbai, Jun 29: All eyes would be on the Maharashtra assembly as Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove a majority by 5 pm tomorrow.

The MVA government is battling for survival as 39 out of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs are in the rebel camp. Eknath Shinde also claims support of 10 independent MLAs. All the rebels have said there is no going back now.

What is a floor test?

A floor test is a constitutional mechanism. It is used to determine if the incumbent government enjoys the support of the legislature. In this procedure, a CM appointed by the Governor can be asked to prove majority on the floor of the Legislative Assembly of the state.

What happens in a floor test?

The chief minister has to move a vote of confidence and win a majority among those present and voting. If the confidence motion fails to pass, the chief minister has to resign.

Will Uddhav survive the floor test?

Rebel Shiv Sena leader Shinde has claimed the support of 50 MLAs, including 10 independent MLAs.

On the other hand, Uddhav enjoys the support of 4 ministers and 15 MLAs as of now. Going by the numbers, MVA government has a negligible chance of survival.

In a major setnback ahead of crucial floor test, Uddhav faction of Shiv Sena has lost four key votes as NCP leaders Chhagan Bhujbal and Ajit Pawar have tested positive for Covid-19 and will be unable to vote
Two other NCP MLAs Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh are currently imprisoned and hence they cannot vote. They had to skip the Rajya Sabha polling as well.

To survive, MVA might require at least 21 of the rebel Sena camp MLAs to return to the party fold and the support of AIMIM.

Shiv Sena allies NCP has 53 and the Congress (44) in the 288 assembly where the current simple majority mark is 144.

The BJP has 106 MLAs of its own and is backed by one lawmaker each from the Raj Thackeray-led MNS, the Swabhimani Paksh, the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh, the Jan Surajya Party and six independents, taking its tally with allies to 116.