Madhya Pradesh politics: Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP delegation meets Governor, demands floor test

A delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, led by former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, held a meeting with Governor Lalji Tandon on Saturday and requested him to hold a floor test in the state assembly at the earliest.

In a letter submitted to the Governor, the BJP demanded a floor test be held before the start of the assembly's budget session on Monday. The BJP is of the view that the state government should not indulge in official matters without proving its majority.

"The government should prove its majority first. Any assembly proceeding other than the trust vote, or for the government to continue in office, would be undemocratic and unconstitutional," the letter read.

Kamal Nath government doesn't have the majority anymore: Chouhan

In a brief interaction with the media after meeting the Governor, Chouhan said that the Kamal Nath government does not have any constitutional authority to run the state and should first pass the confidence motion in the assembly.

Accusing the Congress of threatening the rebel MLAs, he said, "The MLAs are being threatened and are seeking security to come to Bhopal. Congress is indulging in Horse trading. Yesterday, there was an attempt to attack Jyotiraditya Scindia in Bhopal as some people showed black flags to the erstwhile Congress leader."

On Friday, Nath also requested the Governor for a floor test alleging that the Congress MLAs are being held captive by the BJP.

The mathematics of the Madhya Pradesh assembly

There were a total number of 228 MLAs in the 230-seat strong Madhya Pradesh assembly and the Congress enjoyed the support of 121 legislators. The Kamal Nath government had suffered a major blow earlier this week when senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia parted ways with the Congress and joined the BJP.

Scindia's exit was followed by the resignations of 21 other MLAs, which brought down the Congress' strength to 92, leaving Nath on the cusp of losing power in the state.

Now, if the Governor accepts the resignations of all the rebel MLAs, the Congress will need to comply with the new majority mark of 104 MLAs.