MP political crisis explained here, as Kamal Nath-led govt faces floor test tomorrow

Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon on Sunday (March 15, 2020) directed CM Kamal Nath to seek a trust vote on March 16.

New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon on Sunday (March 15, 2020) directed Chief Minister Kamal Nath to seek a trust vote on March 16. 

On Saturday, the Assembly Speaker had accepted the resignations of six ministers, out of the total 22 rebel Congress legislators. The resignations of 16 other rebel legislators, who are in Bengaluru, have not been accepted yet.

Current number of MLAs in Vidhan Sabha

There are a total of 230 seats in MP Vidhan Sabha. Congress has 114, BJP 107, BSP 2, SP 1, Independent 4 and 2 seats are vacant.

With the current halfway mark at 114 in the 228-MLA assembly, BJP currently holds 107 MLAs of its own.

Congress which held 114 MLAs - has now been reduced to 108, with the acceptance of the six ministers' resignation.

The strength of the House is now reduced from 228 to 222 and the majority mark has come down to 112.

These are the two likely scenarios:

1: If the resignation of all 22 rebel MLAs is accepted, the strength of the House will be reduced to 206 from 228 and the majority mark will come down to 104 and the Congress government will fall as the BJP will hold 107 MLAs and can easily form the government.

2: If the speaker does not accept the resignation of the remaining 18 MLA, the strength of the House will remain on 222 and the majority mark will remain on 112. If those MLAs do not vote in favour of congress, the congress government will fall.

The Congress MLAs who won't vote for Congress will then face Anti-Defection Law. The Anti-Defection Law lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.

A legislator is deemed to have defected if he either voluntarily gives up the membership of his party or disobeys the directives of the party leadership on a vote. This implies that a legislator defying (abstaining or voting against) the party whip on any issue can lose his membership of the House. 

The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

The Congress MLAs whose resignations were accepted are: Imarti Devi, Tulsi Silawat, Pradhuman Singh Tomar, Mahendra Singh Sisodia, Govind Singh Rajput, and Prabhu Ram Chaudhary.

Meanwhile, Congress MLAs and Independents who were stationed at a resort in Jaipur arrived in Bhopal on Sunday. Some of the MLAs claimed that the Congress government would prove its majority in the floor test tomorrow.