Maharashtra BJP chief welcomes SC's decision, says will prove majority

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to conduct a floor test in the state's assembly and affirmed that his party will prove their majority.

Speaking to the media, Patil said: "We welcome this decision by the Supreme Court. We are ready for the floor test tomorrow, and we will prove our majority in the state."

A floor test will be held in the Maharashtra Assembly before 5 pm on November 27, the Supreme Court ordered today, days after BJP's Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the state's chief minister nixing Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP's bid to form the government.

The top court also ordered for the floor test to be telecast live.

A floor test is a constitutional mechanism under which a chief minister can be asked to prove majority in the state Assembly.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ramana passed the order on a joint petition filed by the three parties challenging Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's decision to swear in Fadnavis as Chief Minister and NCP's Ajit Pawar as his deputy during early hours of Saturday.

The oaths were administered at a time when deliberations among the three parties on government formation had reached the final stage. The urgent plea filed by the trio sought a direction to conduct an immediate floor test.

During the course of proceedings yesterday, even though the Governor's office and all the parties agreed to a floor test, they had a scattered view on when it should be held.