Won floor test once, will do again, says Nayab Saini after JJP writes to governor
Nayab Singh Saini’s statement came hours after Dushyant Chautala declared that he has already written to the governor to seek a floor test
Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday brushed aside claims that his government could fall, saying there was no threat to his government and that he was in a position to win the trust vote on the floor of the House.
Saini’s statement came hours after Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) chief Dushyant Chautala declared that he has written to governor Bandaru Dattatreya to seek a floor test since the Saini government no longer commands a majority in the House.
Assembly elections are scheduled in the state in October-November this year. In the 90-member assembly, two seats are vacant, of which Karnal is going for by-elections on May 25.
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Saini hit back at Dushyant Chautala, wondering if he had the support of all his 10 legislators. “He should know what his legislators did in the assembly. Does he have the numbers? But we have the numbers. I won the floor test and if required I will do it again. There is no threat to the government,” Saini told reporters.
Saini, however, did not elaborate on the basis of his claim.
The latest chapter of the Haryana crisis that sparked off in March began on Tuesday after three independent lawmakers — Randhir Golan from Pundri, Dharmpal Gonder from Nilokheri and Sombir Singh Sangwan from Dadri — said they had decided to back Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress and wrote to the governor withdrawing their support from the Saini government.
In the 90-member assembly, two seats are vacant, of which Karnal is going for by-elections on May 25.
The BJP has 40 members, and has the support of two independents — Nayan Pal Rawat from Prithla and Rakesh Daulatabad from Badshahpur — and Gopal Kanda of the Haryana Lokhit Party. That takes it to 43, two short of the majority mark of 45 in the assembly that has a strength of 88.
The Congress has 30 lawmakers, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) has 10, and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has one. In addition, one independent legislator — Balraj Kundu from Meham — has not made his position clear.
If they all oppose the government, there will be 45 votes against the state government.
“Given these developments and the clear stance of my party i.e. JJP, which does not extend its support to the present government and is open to backing any other political party for government formation, it is evidence that the incumbent government no longer commands a majority in the legislative assembly,” Chautala said in his letter to the governor.