The Kamal Nath government has support from Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav
The BJP in Madhya Pradesh has written to Governor Anandiben Patel, claiming that the Congress government led by Kamal Nath is in minority and asking her to convene the state assembly, presumably for a trust vote. The Congress had captured power from the BJP after the assembly polls held last year. They have a wafer thin majority in the house and have the support of Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath said the government was "ready for a floor test".
"They (the BJP) have been trying this since Day One... we have proved majority at least four times in the last five months. They want to do it again, we have no problem. They'll try their best to disturb present government to save themselves from getting exposed," news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
In the assembly polls conducted last year, the Cong won 114 of the state's 230 seats, where majority mark is at 116. Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, which has two lawmakers, and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party which has one, are supporting the Congress. The BJP has 109 seats.
"I am writing a letter to the Governor for convening a special session of MP Assembly shortly. We want discussion important issues like the farm loan waiver and (to) test the government's strength," Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Gopal Bhargava was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.
"We will not try to dislodge the government but the Congress is a divided house.They are in minority and even the minority is divided... Scindia has gone outside the country even before the last phase," the BJP's former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh told NDTV.
The BJP demand comes a day after exit polls that predicted a thumping victory for the NDA in the Lok Sabha elections, with more than 300 seats. An aggregate of exit polls has also predicted that the BJP will win 24 of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh.
Political tension rose in Madhya Pradesh last month after Lokendra Singh Rajput, a candidate of Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, quit and joined the Congress, saying he supports Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Mayawati was furious and tweeted that she would reconsider her support to the Kamal Nath government. Chief Minister Kamal Nath, however, indicated the matter was resolved, saying, "Mayawati's party has the same goal as us... that is the exit of the BJP".
Today, the state Congress said they have the numbers and need not prove it every week. But the party has been a divided house since the beginning, which became sharper during the Lok Sabha campaign.
While Jyotiraditya Scindia -- who is seen to have convinced the BSP candidate to change camp - never campaigned outside his home turf Guna, Digvijaya Singh kept himself confined to Bhopal, leaving the party workers to fend for themselves in the rest of the state.
This factionalism is seen as the reason why the party may be unable to build on its gains in the assembly elections.
Data from previous elections have shown that traditionally, the party which wins the assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh does even better in the Lok Sabha elections that follow.