A Bharatiya Janata Party delegation met the Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon on Saturday and demanded a floor test before his address to the House.
The delegation was led by BJP leader and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
The move could be considered as a “precursor” of the government formation by the BJP in the state, after Jyotiradtya Scindia along with 22 other Congress MLAs quit the party.
Former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan after meeting the Governor said, “There is a minority government in the state, so there should be a floor test ahead of Governor’s address and budget session.”
The BJP also demanded that the whole process should be filmed.
The delegation included Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava and former Ministers Narottam Mishra and Bhupendra Singh.
However, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker NP Prajapati has indicated that action might be taken against two or three rebel MLAs out of 22 who had resigned.
Prajapati had asked seven rebel Congress MLAs on Saturday to appear before him to discuss the resignation. Eventually, none of them turned up.
Similarly, the six MLAs who were asked to appear before him on Friday also didn’t turn up. These six MLAs were again called up the speaker.
None of the 13 MLAs turn up the speaker’s call. It was reported that the speaker waited for them nearly three hours.
“I kept waiting for the seven MLAs, who were given time today, and for the six MLAs who didn’t come on Friday, at the Assembly Secretariat. Now, I will work as per the legal process,” Prajapati said.
“Two or three serious issues of legislators have come before me. Based on the papers that have been received, I am considering whether to keep them or remove them,” he added.
The political turnarounds in Madhya Pradesh came after the four-time MP and former minister Jyotiraditya Scindia joined BJP in the afternoon of March 11, detaching the 18-year-old relationship with Congress. His induction in BJP was much anticipated after the political furore in the state in the last few months.
When the assembly commence on March 16, the BJP will seek the floor test which Kamal Nath is likely to fail due to the 22 MLAs leaving his side. It will pave path for the BJP to form the government comfortably as the Congress is currently enjoying a wafer-thin majority in the state.