Devendra Fadnavis to face floor test tomorrow before 5pm, rules SC

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis

Amid the Maharashtra government formation, the Supreme Court on Tuesday requested governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to ensure that the floor test be held on November 27. It said all elected members in the Maharashtra Assembly will take oath on November 27.

The swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister on Saturday has been challenged by Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine. In the House of 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, BJP is the single-largest party with 105 MLAs, followed by the Shiv Sena (56 MLAs), NCP (54 MLAs) and Congress (44 MLAs).

The combine was pressing for the floor test on Monday itself, which was opposed by Fadnavis and Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

The court ruled that floor test will be over by 5pm on Wednesday and no secret ballot will be used."The entire proceedings will be telecast live," a bench comprising Justices N V Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna also said. The governor will also appoint a pro-tem speaker who will administer oath to the newly elected members.

Soon after the ruling, Prithviraj Chavan, former chief minister and Congress leader said, "Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP are satisfied with the Supreme Court order of floor test in the Maharashtra assembly. The Constitution was respected on Constitution Day."

(With inputs from PTI)

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