Maharashtra politics update: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde wins floor test with 164 MLAs

With 164 MLAs voting for him, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's newly constituted Maharashtra government passed a floor test in the state assembly. This follows Sunday's significant victory in which Rahul Narvekar of the BJP was chosen as Speaker. The State Legislative Assembly's two-day special session comes after a high-stakes political drama that saw a rebel faction led by Shinde overthrow the Maha Vikas Aghadi administration of Uddhav Thackeray and take power in coalition with the BJP.

BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had earlier claimed that the Shinde government would prove its majority with 166 votes. "The youngest speaker candidate won the speaker election with 164 votes today as 2 MLAs couldn't come due to health issues. We would prove our majority with 166 votes in the vote of confidence," he had said.

The BJP currently holds 106 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, while Shinde is in charge of 39 Shiv Sena rebel lawmakers as well as some independents. At 144, the majority was reached.

On the floor, Uddhav Thackeray is backed by over 120 MLAs. NCP, Congress, and MVA supporters are among the MLAs who support Uddhav.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena group led by Uddhav Thackeray has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the Speaker's choice to recognise the Shinde camp's whip as the party's whip for July 11. The plea will be heard in court together with other case-related petitions.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.