Ahead of trust vote, Chhagan Bhujbal claims support of over 162 MLAs

Ahead of the trust vote, senior NCP MLA and newly sworn-in Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Saturday claimed that the Maha Vikas Aghadi enjoys the support of over 162 MLAs.

"We can get the support of more than 162 MLAs that we already have. Some MLAs happen to be on the fence and may decide at the last moment. When they see a party or alliance gaining weight, they side with it," he said.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has also claimed that the Sena-NCP-Congress combine will get more than 170 votes in its favour in the scheduled vote of confidence in the 288-member Assembly today.

In a rather cryptic tweet, Raut said, "Today is the day to prove majority... 170 +++++..."

The floor test will be conducted at 2 pm under new pro tem Speaker or temporary Speaker Dilip Walse Patil, the senior NCP MLA who replaced BJP's Kalidas Kolambkar on Friday.

As per the assembly results, the Shiv Sena has 56 MLAs, NCP has 54 and Congress has 44 in the 288-member state Assembly. The pro tem speaker has a casting vote in case of a tie.