MP political crisis deepens as 14 MLAs loyal to Scindia resign

The 15-month-old Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh was pushed to the brink on Tuesday with 14 MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia camping in Bengaluru sending their resignations to Raj Bhavan, sources said.

A short while ago Scindia resigned from the Congress in Delhi saying it was now time for him to move on. He was promptly expelled from the Congress by party president Sonia Gandhi.

"We have received resignations of 14 MLAs through two e-mails with attachments," a Raj Bhavan official told PTI.

State Governor Lalji Tandon who is in Lucknow for celebrating Holi is likely to rush back to Bhopal by cutting short his visit, sources said.

However, it could not be confirmed whether the governor will be returning by this evening, when the Congress and the BJP will be holding their respective legislature party meetings.

According to sources in the Scindia camp, six more MLAs, including some ministers, might also resign from the Assembly.

In case the six MLAs decide to follow the suit of Scindia, the number of the Congress legislators in the 230-member House will come down by 20 (including the 14 MLAs who have sent their resignation letters to Raj Bhavan) to 94 from the current 114.

The current effective strength of the House is 228 with two seats vacant. However, in case of resignation by the 20 MLAs, the strength of the Assembly will be 208 and the magic number required to prove majority will be 105.

The BJP has 107 MLAs.

The Kamal Nath government is supported by two legislators of the BSP, one of the SP one and four Independents.

Assuming that these legislators continue to support the Kamal Nath government in the changing political scenario, the tally of the Congress and its allies will be maximum 101 MLAs, still four short of the halfway mark.