Maharashtra: Floor test may be just a formality, but the real drama follows later

New Delhi, Nov 29: It may be a mere formality, but the floor test that Uddhav Thackeray is likely to take on Saturday would be an interesting one to watch.

Thackeray who took oath as chief minister of Maharashtra on Friday is likely to take the floor test at 2 pm. If all goes as per plan, then the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP together have 162 MLAs on the floor of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Uddhav Thackeray was given time until December 3 by the Governor of Maharashtra B S Koshyari to prove his majority. In its letter to the Governor, the alliance claimed the support of 162 MLAs.

The alliance would, however, want to have its own speaker and is looking to replace the pro-tem speaker. As per the arrangement, the post of deputy chief minister would go to the NCP, while the speaker would be from the Congress.

While the floor test would be a mere floor test for the alliance, the challenge would lie after the exercise is conducted. There is a question mark as to who from the NCP would be the deputy CM. While the name of Ajit Pawar has been doing the rounds, it still is not clear if his name would be cleared considering the coup he pulled off last week with Devendra Fadnavis.

Further, there would be discussions on the portfolios as well. The portfolios that would need to be watched out for are Home, Finance and Urban Development. It may be recalled that the Shiv Sena had asked the BJP for these portfolios as well. Both the Congress and NCP are aware that they have given the Sena too much and would be vying for these top portfolios.

Political analysts tell OneIndia that the alliance would survive for now, but the days ahead would be extremely challenging. What is keeping the alliance together is a single point agenda of keeping the BJP out.

In the House, the Shiv Sena has 56 MLAs, while the NCP and Congress have 54 and 44 respectively. The BJP is the single largest party with 105 seats.