MP political crisis LIVE: Nath says will prove majority as Scindia quits

Congress has a wafer-thin majority in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly.

Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday resigned from the party and is all set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shortly, taking 22 legislators with him—an event that may pull down the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh.

Moments after Scindhia flagged by Home Minister Amit Shah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a shell-shocked Congress, in a largely symbolic move of no consequence expelled him from the primary membership of the party. In the resignation letter dated March 9 to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Scindia said "It is now time for me to move on" as he was unable to serve the people of the country while remaining in the party.

Congress has a wafer-thin majority in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly whose current effective strength is 228. If the resignations of the 17 MLAs is accepted, the strength of the Assembly will fall to 211. The magic number for retaining the majority then will be 106. The Congress, however, will be left with 97 seats while the BJP has 104 seats.