Puducherry test today; two ruling MLAs resign
Four Congress MLAs – including former ministers A Namassivayam and Malladi Krishna Rao – quit earlier, while another party legislator was disqualified for anti-party activities last year.
Two more MLAs of the Congress-led ruling combine resigned from the Puducherry assembly on Sunday, a day before a floor test, in a jolt to chief minister V Narayanasamy’s government as it stood at a reduced strength of 12 MLAs in the 33-member House.
Congress MLA K Lakshminarayanan and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) legislator Venkatesan announced their resignations on Sunday, while the Opposition’s strength stood at 14. The assembly now has seven vacancies, resulting in an effective strength of 26. The simple majority figure is 14 after the Sunday’s resignations.
Four Congress MLAs – including former ministers A Namassivayam and Malladi Krishna Rao – quit earlier, while another party legislator was disqualified for anti-party activities last year.
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In the 33-member assembly, 30 are elected seats and three are nominated members belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress currently has nine MLAs. These include assembly speaker SP Sivakolundhi, who is not allowed to vote unless there is a tie.
The Congress has the support of two DMK MLAs and an independent MLA from Mahe. The Opposition has seven MLAs from the All Indian NR Congress, led by former chief minister N Rangasamy, and four from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). It also includes the BJP’s nominated members, who are allowed to vote.
Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who was handed additional charge of Puducherry on Tuesday last week, directed Narayanasamy on Thursday to prove majority by ordering a floor test scheduled for February 22. Lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi was replaced by Soundararajan on Tuesday, hours after a Congress MLA’s resignation.
The resignations of two more MLAs came on a day the ruling alliance’s members met the chief minister to discuss the future course of action. The sitting MLAs will also meet for an hour on Monday. “We have to take a decision on whether to attend the trust vote or submit our resignation to the Lieutenant Governor (L-G),” said a Puducherry Congress leader, asking not to be named.
Lieutenant governor Soundararajan has asked the ruling alliance to prove its majority by 5pm. The voting will take place by a show of hands. Even if all ruling MLAs are present, the Congress-led government will fall short of the simple majority mark, with 11 votes. “Elections are less than two months away so we will work towards the elections where people will give us the majority,” a senior Congress leader said on condition of anonymity. A senior Puducherry BJP leader said that they may not stake claim to form the government. “In a week, poll dates will be announced so what is the point of running a government for about 60 days?” the BJP leader said. President’s Rule seems imminent in that scenario.
Lakshminarayanan resigned from his post as MLA and quit the Congress, stating that he was disrespected in the party and the Opposition was welcoming him. “The government is not failing because of my resignation. It has already lost its majority,” he told reporters on Sunday.
The DMK’s Venkatesan also submitted his resignation to the Speaker, saying he was dissatisfied with the government. “The BJP has used muscle and money power and threatened the MLAs,” said Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee president AV Subramanian.
After holding consultations with the Congress-led alliance, chief minister Narayanasamy told reporters that he will announce his decision on the floor of the House, when the assembly convenes at 10am on Monday. “We discussed the strategy to be adopted with alliance parties in the legislative assembly. Several suggestions were given by ministers, MLAs, MP and the deputy speaker. Finally, we decided that we will disclose our strategy on the floor of the house when it convenes.”
Political analysts say that the Congress could turn this crisis into an emotive issue. “It’s clear that Narayanasamy won’t be able to win the trust vote so he may use the floor test to highlight his achievements and his victimisation for the ensuing election similar to what VP Singh (former Prime Minister from 1989 to 1990 until he lost the vote of no-confidence) did when the BJP pulled out its support,” said political commentator Raveendran Duraisamy.