MP Floor Test At 2.00 PM Today, Kamal Nath To Address Media At Noon

Bhopal: In compliance with the Supreme Court order on Thursday, the Speaker of the Madhya Pradesh assembly is scheduled to hold a floor test on Friday at 2 pm. Meanwhile both the Congress and the BJP have issued whips to their MLAs, with both parties claiming majority.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath is scheduled to hold a press conference at 12 noon on Friday. Speculation is rife that the chief minister would announce his resignation.

The floor test, if it is held, would bring the drama in Madhya Pradesh to its end. The Speaker of the MP assembly, NP Prajapati regretted the silence of the Constitution, as he chose to describe it.

As things stand, Kamal Nath is said to have 92 MLAs while the BJP is claiming to have the backing of 107 legislators.

The Supreme Court, in its order on a petition filed by former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and 9 other MLAs, directed the Speaker of the MP legislative assembly to conduct a floor test on Friday and conclude it by 5.00 pm. The apex court also ordered the video-graphing of the proceedings related to the floor test. The trust vote will be conducted by a show of hands.

The Kamal Nath government became imperilled after Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress to join the BJP. 22 MLAs left the Congress along with him and 19 of them are holed up in a hotel in Bengaluru. 16 rebel MLAs sent their resignations to the Speaker of which he accepted only 6.

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh reached Bengaluru on Wednesday and attempted to meet the rebel MLAs at their hotel. He was denied access by the local police, he claimed to the media later.