Amid Ongoing Political Crisis In Madhya Pradesh, BJP To Seek Floor Test In State Assembly On 16 March

Amid the ongoing political crisis in Madhya Pradesh after the resignation of 22 Congress MLAs, the Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to seek a floor test in the state Assembly on 16 March, reports Times of India.

The 22 Congress MLAs had resigned after former union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the party on Tuesday (10 March). Scindia on Wednesday (11 March) joined the BJP.

"Since the government is in minority, we are going to request the governor and the Assembly Speaker for a floor test on March 16 when the state budget session begins," BJP's chief whip in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Narottam Mishra was quoted in the report as saying.

Mishra further added that it is up to the governor and the speaker to take the call on the resignations of the Congress MLAs.

According to the report, the Congress, with its tally of 114 MLAs before the rebellion, had a wafer-thin majority in the 228-member assembly. It also had the support of four independents, two BSP MLAs and one from the SP.

However, if the resignations of the 22 Congress MLAs are accepted, the strength of the party in the assembly will fall to 92, way below the required number that the Kamal Nath-led state government would require to prove its majority in the house. Besides, some of the independents MLAs could also switch sides.

Further, the strength of the state Assembly too would fall to 206, bringing down the magic number for a majority to 104.

BJP, on the other hand, has 107 seats, three more than the required number to cross the halfway mark.