Devendra Fadnavis govt wins trust vote in Maha Assembly

A recalcitrant Shiv Sena, which failed to reach an accord with former ally BJP over its support, will sit in Opposition.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ minority Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Wednesday won the confidence motion in the Maharashtra Assembly through a voice vote. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which had extended its support to the BJP government, remained silent to abstain from the vote

The Congress and the Shiv Sena, however, termed the state government “illegitimate”. The two parties raised serious objection against the voting procedure and claimed it had failed to prove majority. The parties have strongly demanded a fresh trust vote, and argued that the BJP did not have the numbers to prove its majority through a division vote. Fadnavis, meanwhile, tweeted a “thank you” and said, “I assure that each step by our government will be in the interest of the people of Maharashtra.”

The Congress and the Shiv Sena called Wednesday’s development a “black day” in the history of Maharashtra, and announced they would register their protest with Governor C Vidyasagar Rao. The two opposition parties also protested against Speaker Haribhau Bagde’s decision not to hold a division vote. Earlier, Bagde was unanimously elected as the Assembly Speaker.

On Wednesday morning, the floor test was brought swiftly ahead of schedule. The motion was moved by BJP legislator Ashish Shelar and it was passed by voice vote. Shiv Sena legislators shouted the loudest nays and trooped into the well of the House demanding a division vote. Sena legislator Ramdas Kadam charged the government of manipulating the trust vote. Kadam said he would talk to leaders of all non-BJP parties, including NCP to explore the option of moving a no-confidence motion against Bagde.

The decision to avoid a division vote is being seen as BJP's attempt to not bring on record the possibility of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP having voted for the BJP or abstaining. NCP legislator Jitendra Awhad later said, “We had no time to react...to either abstain or vote in favour. The BJP did not manage the voting process properly.” But he said had the party participated, it would've abstained from the vote, which would have helped Fadnavis win.

The Speaker announced the appointment of Sena Legislature Party leader Eknath Shinde as the Leader of the Opposition in the House.