SC Verdict on Maharashtra: Sena-NCP-Congress alliance wins, floor test tomorrow

The long-impending suspense in Maharashtra government formation has now gone to the Supreme Court The three-judge bench of the SC ruled that a floor test would be conducted tomorrow, on November 27, in line with all the demands put forth by the opposition alliance's demands.

The SC rejected Governor and BJP's argument and said the floor test should be held tomorrow post 5 PM. It even ordered that the floor test be video graphed. "The court is being called upon to establish democratic values. There is need to constitutional probity" said SC Judge Ramana while reading out the order.

The month-long political suspense in Maharashtra took a dramatic turn on Saturday when Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister for the second term and was administered oath of office in secret ceremony early morning before 6 AM. The major twist of the story was that NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister at the Raj Bhavan along with Fadnavis. The two parties are known to have a rivalry, with Devendra Fadnavis vowing to send Pawar to jail in connection with a Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam.

On Monday, the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress gathered its MLAs at the posh Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Top leaders from the three parties -- including Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP's Sharad Pawar -- were confident with a total of 162 MLAs backing them up.

All the 162 MLAs took a "pledge" to stay with the Sena-NCP-Congress alliance and not to support the BJP. A grand public parade of MLAs from the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena was carried out on Monday evening as a show of strength ahead of the crucial Supreme Court hearing pronounced this morning. The three-party combines were confident about proving the majority on the floor of the House.

The BJP won 105 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly election that it contested with the Shiv Sena, which got 56 seats; the NCP won 54 seats and the Congress 44. There are 29 MLAs who won as either Independents or as candidates of smaller parties.