Uddhav Thackeray-led alliance breezes through Maharashtra floor test
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra with Sena's Uddhav Thackeray at the forefront breezed through the trust vote in the Maharashtra assembly on Saturday afternoon. This comes after more than a month of power tussle that saw allies BJP and Shiv Sena parting ways and rivals coming together to form an alliance.
The floor test began amid high drama as the BJP members led by Devendra Fadnavis, walked out of the assembly just before the voting process began. The BJP MLAs started their protest against the selection of Nationalist Congress Party's Dilip Walse Patil as the temporary speaker for the two-day process. Patil had replaced BJP's Kalidas Kolambkar as the pro-term speaker. A permanent speaker will be elected tomorrow.
"Never in the history of Maharashtra assembly, a trust vote was conducted without electing a Speaker. What was the fear this time?" Mr Fadnavis said and later led a walkout from the assembly.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray heads an alliance of the Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) , Shiv Sena, and Congress. They have named the alliance the 'Maha Vikas Aghadi.'
The alliance won with 169 votes, breezing past the minimum half-way mark of 145 in the assembly constituting 288 members totally. The three parties together have a strength of 154 MLAs. Some Independent candidates and others from Bahujan Vikas Aghadi backed the Uddhav Thackeray-led alliance.
Four MLAs abstained from voting, the temporary Speaker Patil said.
Ahead of the floor test, Uddhav Thackeray paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji in the state assembly premises. The leader did not participate in the voting process as he is not an MLA.
Earlier on Saturday, the BJP had said it may approach the Supreme Court against the change of the temporary Speaker. The party has nominated MLA Kisan S Kathore as its candidate for tomorrow's Speaker's election against the Congress MLA Nana Patolem, the nominee of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance.