If the 16 MLAs would have been disqualified, then the Shinde faction with 39 MLAs would be reduced to 23 while the other faction would have 26 MLAs.
In a big setback to the Shiv Sena, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the direction of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, in which the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government were asked to conduct a floor test in the Assembly on Thursday. This proved to be nail in the coffin for Uddhav Thackeray.
After the decision of the Supreme Court, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced to resign from his post. He was well aware that without the 16 rebel MLAs from Eknath Shinde faction being disqualified and with two NCP MLAs down with Covid, two Congress MLAs abroad, there was no chance that the government could have been saved in the floor test.
Read | Why Eknath Shinde faction left Guwahati a day before for Goa en route Mumbai?
If the 16 MLAs would have been disqualified, then of the 55-member Shiv Sena, the Uddhav Thackeray faction would have 26 MLAs while the count of the Eknath Shinde faction with 39 MLAs would be reduced to 23. That is why the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly had issued notices to these MLAs.
Uddhav Thackeray was relying on the fact that if 16 MLAs are disqualified, then seeing the threat to the legislature, some of the 23 MLAs left in the rebel faction would come to his court because reports were that some MLAs were in touch with him. That is why Uddhav Thackeray was still holding on to his post.
But because the hearing on the disqualification of the MLAs is scheduled at a later date and the Supreme Court rejected the Shiv Sena's plea for a stay on the floor test, the defeat of the Uddhav government was certain. This is the reason why Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation when the Supreme Court's decision came against his government.
What Eknath Shinde argued in Supreme Court
Meanwhile, rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the Uddhav Thackeray-led camp is in a minority within the party and floor test in the Assembly is the best way to stop horse-trading of MLAs. Shinde's counsel told a vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala that any delay in the floor test would further damage democratic politics.
Eknath Shinde's lawyer said in the Supreme Court that they have 39 out of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs. He said that the emerging situation calls for a floor test and the Governor has decided to conduct it at his discretion. Shinde's lawyer told the court, "Today we are not leaving Shiv Sena. We are Shiv Sena. We have 39 MLAs out of 55 from Shiv Sena."
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 "Why Uddhav Thackeray resigned soon after SC's decision?")
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