Maharashtra Floor Test Tomorrow, Supreme Court Orders Carrying Out Vote Before 5 PM on November 27

New Delhi, November 26: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to prove their majority in the Maharashtra Assembly through a floor test on Wednesday, November 27, before 5 pm. The Court also said that the floor test will be done by a pro-tem speaker. The floor test will be telecast live and it will be an open ballot system test. Justice NV Ramana, the senior most judge on the bench, read out the order. A bench of Justices N V Ramana, Ashok Bhushan, and Sanjiv Khanna on Monday heard the arguments put forth by counsels appearing for Governor, Maharashtra BJP and other parties and reserved its order. Maharashtra Power Tussle: NCP, Shiv Sena, Congress Show Unity, Sharad Pawar Says 'Will Bring More Than 162 MLAs During Floor Test'.

This was the third day in a row that the Supreme Court has held a session regarding the matter. The apex court held court on Sunday after the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP moved the top court challenging Devendra Fadnavis swearing-in as the chief minister of Maharashtra and the BJP forming the government in the wee hours of morning on Saturday. Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress Stake Claim to Form Maharashtra Government as Devendra Fadnavis Takes Charge as Chief Minister of State.

The petitions were filed after BJP's Devendra Fadnavis took oath for the second consecutive term as the state Chief Minister, with NCP's Ajit Pawar as his Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday morning.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the Centre in the case. The BJP was represented by senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi. Kapil Sibal was Shiv Sena's counsel and Abhishek Manu Singhvi was the Congress and NCP's lawyer in the plea.

This came when deliberations among Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena on the government formation had reached the final stage. On the directions of the top court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Maharashtra Governor's office, handed over an original letter of Governor inviting BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis to form a government.

The swearing-in ceremony took everyone by surprise as the state was under the President's rule. It was later revealed that the notification revoking President's rule was issued around 5:45 am, while the swearing-in ceremony of Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar took place around 8 am.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party in Maharashtra assembly winning 105 seats, and along with its longtime ally, Shiv Sena was in a comfortable position to form a government. The Shiv Sena, however, with 56 legislators, refused to join the BJP in forming a government, insisting on rotational chief ministership. The Shiv Sena had since been trying to form a government with the help of the NCP and Congress, which had won 54 and 44 seats respectively.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 26, 2019 10:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).