Maha govt doesn't have majority, relying on Ajit Pawar to win floor test: Athawale

In a major twist, RPI leader Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday said that the BJP-led government in Maharashtra was relying on NCP leader Ajit Pawar to win the floor test in the state Assembly.

"We do not have the majority yet but we have planned to rely on Ajit dada to prove majority. Several MLAs may support Ajit Pawar (during the floor test). I am sure we will get it by tomorrow as we trust Ajit Pawar that he will bring his MLAs," Athawale told ANI.

However, he said that the MLAs supporting Ajit Pawar may not be present in the House during the floor test.

The leader of the RPI, which is an ally of the BJP, suggested that NCP chief Sharad Pawar should join the NDA.

Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav, however, looked confident and mocked the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena to parade its MLAs in a Mumbai hotel on Monday to show their strength.

"Majority has to be proven not in hotels or elsewhere but on the floor of the House. We're confident that on the floor of the house, our government will be able to prove its majority," he told reporters here.

On a plea of Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena, the Supreme Court earlier today ruled that a floor test be conducted in Maharasthra Assembly before 5 pm on Wednesday, observing that a delay in the majority test could lead to horse-trading.

Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena paraded their MLAs at a hotel in Mumbai on Monday and claimed that they have a total of 162 legislators.

The three parties have also submitted a letter of MLAs at Raj Bhavan saying the present dispensation does not have numbers and staked claim to form the government.

Earlier on Saturday, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively, sending shockwaves in the Opposition camp.

The BJP had won 105 seats in the 288-member assembly in last month's assembly polls followed by Shiv Sena 56, NCP 54 and Congress 44. Although BJP and Shiv Sena got the mandate to form the government, the two parties parted ways over power-sharing.