CLP meet underway ahead of floor test; Will Kamal Nath resign?

Ahead of Kamal Nath government’s floor test at 2 pm on Friday (March 20) in Madhya Pradesh and speculations of the Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s resignation, a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) has begun at the CM’s residence.

With the CM convening a press meet at 12, and veteran leader, Digvijay Singh saying ‘wait for it’, the political grapevine has it that the CM has been asked by the Congress to ‘graciously resign’.

“Yes we are going to the chief minister’s residence. We are going to draw our final strategy for the House,” a Congress MLA told PTI before heading for the meeting. When asked about the speculations that the ruling party MLAs would resign en masse, he said, “I do not think so.”

The apex court had on Thursday ordered the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker to conduct a floor test by 5 pm on Friday, leaving the fate of the 15-month-old government hanging by a thread after the resignation of 22 Congress MLAs.

While hearing a petition of the BJP, pleading for an urgent resolution to the issue, a bench headed by DY Chandrachud said on that the uncertainty over the Madhya Pradesh government should end.

Related news: After SC order, Kamal Nath govt to face floor test at 2 pm today

“There will be only agenda – whether the government enjoys strength. The state of uncertainty in Madhya Pradesh should be effectively resolved by a floor test,” the court said. Stating that prolonging the trust vote would encourage “horse-trading”, the bench said the voting process should be done peacefully, by a show of hands and has to be videographed and preferably live streamed.

The court also directed the police commissioners of Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka to provide security to the rebel MLAs in case they wanted to participate in the trust vote. The 22 rebel MLAs are currently put up in a hotel in Bengaluru.

Late on Thursday night, Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker NP Prajapati had accepted the resignation of the remaining 16 MLAs loyal to former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia. With the resignation of 16 more MLAs, the strength of Congress has come down to 92 from 108.

Earlier, six ministers had resigned which brought down the ruling party’s strength from 114 to 108.