Six opposition Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (P) legislators, who had asked the Assembly Speaker for seats in the treasury benches on Tuesday, joined the BJP in presence of chief minister Raghubar Das in Delhi on Wednesday.
The six MLAs made the request in a letter to Speaker Dinesh Oraon, who said he would make a decision after consulting constitutional and legal experts.
The development comes a day after JVM (P) president Babulal Marandi wrote to Oraon, asking him to suspend the membership of four rebel legislators from the house.
The key question before the Speaker is whether the defection under the 10th schedule of the Constitution could be applied in light of the JVM (P)'s move seeking the suspension of membership of four rebel legislators before the six rebels sought seats in the ruling benches.
Inder Singh Namdhari, the first Jharkhand Assembly Speaker said, much would be left to the discretion of Oraon.
"The 10th schedule mandates (a) split not only in (the) legislator party but also in the party organisation. In this case split in the legislator party is apparent but whether there is split in party organisation is not clear,” he said.
“Whether there is vertical split in organisational structure and hierarchy is the other aspect (the) Speaker would have to look into. (The) Speaker, going by the numbers, could declare the defection valid.”
But Babulal Marandi may have pre-empted the rebel move by seeking the suspension of four of the six renegades, which complicates the issue, Namdhari said, adding that Speaker's ruling could be susceptible to challenge in a court of law.
Meanwhile Babulal Marandi on Tuesday said he would take BJP's "gundagardi" to the people's court in every village.
A party delegation also met the state Governor on Tuesday and complained against the BJP. It has also decided to observe February 11 as a 'black day' in the state.
But Babulal Marandi may have pre-empted the rebel move by seeking the suspension of four of the six renegades, which complicates the issue, Namdhari said, adding that Speaker's ruling could be susceptible to challenge in a court of law.
Meanwhile Babulal Marandi on Tuesday said he would take BJP's "gundagardi" to the people's court in every village.
A party delegation also met the state Governor on Tuesday and complained against the BJP. It has also decided to observe February 11 as a 'black day' in the state.
(With inputs from PTI)