Within days after the 22 rebel Members of Legislative Assembly of the Congress party submitted their resignation and fled the state, Lalji Tandon, Governor of Madhya Pradesh, has asked Narmada Prasada Prajapati, the Assembly Speaker, to conduct the floor test on Monday, 16th of March.
The move that came around midnight has virtually pushed Kamal Nath out of the office in Madhya Pradesh.
On Monday, the Governor will address the Assembly at 11 am after which the trust vote will be held. In the order, he further stressed that the trust vote cannot be delayed or suspended. With his permission, Vidhana Sabha TV will be recording the process of trust vote on a video.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister had written a letter addressing to the Governor informing about their readiness for the trust vote while the BJP too wrote to the Governor complaining about the pressure put on the resigned MLAs by the state government.
While BJP has claimed to have the numbers to form the Government, the Governor accepted their claim and advocated for the trust vote which, according to him, is an act of “protecting democratic values”.
On Saturday, Kamal Nath also wrote to Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, urging him to release the 22 Congressmen who are held “captive” in Bengaluru. In the letter, Nath also ensured that the released MLAs will be provided with security by the CRPF and also demanded the same. He also brought attention to the “unprecedented act” of MLAs being taken away captive. He also alleged that the Government cannot reach the MLAs as their mobile phones have been taken away and also alleged that the Karnataka BJP is covering the expense of their stay.
In the elections of 2018, Congress had bagged 114 seats out of the 230 assembly seats. They then banked upon two MLAs of the Bahujan Samaj Party, one from the Samajwadi Party and three independent candidates. BJP currently holds 109 seats.
The trust vote on Monday, as of now, stands as the first key survival test for the Madhya Pradesh Congress Party with 22 MLAs resigning from the party and Jyotiraditya Scindia switching sides. BJP hopes to swing with the popular wave while Congress hopes to stun the critics.
