Mumbai – Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde secured the seat after winning the trust vote easily. The ruling coalition led by the Shiv Sena rebels and the BJP secured 164 votes, while the opposition Mahavikas Aghadi (Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress) secured 99 votes. 11 Congress MLAs including senior leader Ashok Chavan and 4 NCP MLAs were not present in the House at the time of voting. BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis thanked Chavan, who arrived late, for indirectly helping them.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Banger, who broke down in support of party president Uddhav Thackeray a week ago, defected to the Shinde camp yesterday. With this, the rebel strength has increased to 40. NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who was the deputy chief minister in the Aghadi government, was chosen as the leader of the opposition.
The 2 NCP leaders who were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate could not participate in the polls. One member of Asaduddin Uwaisi’s AIMIM did not turn up for the polls. One left. 2 Samajwadi MLAs also abstained. 2 BJP MLAs did not attend due to illness. Speaker Rahul Narvekar accepted the decision of the rebels to make Shinde the Leader of the House of Shiv Sena and appoint a new Chief Whip for the party. Questioning this, the Uddhav side approached the Supreme Court. The court informed that it will be considered on 11 along with other petitions including the disqualification of the rebels.
Rebels 40, Uddhav 15
With the death of one Shiv Sena member, BJP – 106, Congress – 44, Shiv Sena rebels – 40, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Paksha) – 15, NCP – 53, independents and small parties – 29 in the 287-member House. 144 votes are required for absolute majority. Apart from the Speaker, there were 262 people in the House for voting.
English Summary: Maharashtra Government proves majority