Puducherry Floor Test Monday, Says Lieutenant Governor, Amid Congress Crisis

The Congress government in Puducherry will face a test of strength on Monday, Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said today, citing the opposition's stand that the ruling party no longer has a majority.

With both the government and the opposition short of numbers, Puducherry is likely headed for President's rule just three months before elections.

Ahead of the floor test, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, who has accused the opposition BJP of trying to topple his government, met his MLAs at his residence on Thursday night to chalk out a strategy.

"Today I held a meeting with MLAs and discussed the floor test. No decision has been taken in today's meet. We will hold a meeting again on February 21. We are also consulting with our alliance partner DMK," Mr Narayanasamy was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Ms Soundararajan, who took charge as Lieutenant Governor yesterday after Kiran Bedi's sudden removal, reportedly called Mr Narayanasamy for a meeting this afternoon and handed over a letter asking him to prove his majority.

She said a floor test was needed to confirm whether the Congress government still enjoys a majority, with letters from opposition parties suggesting otherwise. The vote has to be completed by 5 pm on Monday.

A statement said the Lieutenant Governor had conveyed to Mr Narayanasamy that the assembly would meet for a "single agenda, namely whether the government of the incumbent Chief Minister continues to enjoy the confidence of the House."

In the 33-member assembly, the Congress had 15 members and, along with the DMK's three and one independent MLA, was just past the majority mark of 16.

After four Congress MLAs quit, the government and the opposition are both at 14. The Congress now has 10 MLAs, leaving the government one short of the majority mark, which is now at 15 with the assembly strength coming down to 28.

Elections are due in Puducherry, along with neighbouring Tamil Nadu, by May.

There are three ways in which the vote could play out.

If the Congress loses the vote, the Lieutenant Governor may ask the AINRC, as the next biggest party, to form the government.

The Congress may scrape through if the two lawmakers whose resignations have not been accepted have a change of heart. Or if two opposition members abstain or skip the vote.

The Congress could also preempt its defeat by dissolving the house and seeking fresh elections. The Union Territory would then be placed under President's Rule or Mr Narayanasamy could become caretaker Chief Minister until the polls.

The BJP said Mr Narayanasamy's government would fall on Monday.

"He has lost his majority and his claim of having a majority is false. His government will fall on February 22. All 14 Opposition MLAs are united," said Puducherry BJP President V Saminathan.

Two of the four Congress MLAs who have quit in the past few weeks have joined the BJP. A Namassivayam and E.Theeppainjan both resigned on January 25.

Malladi Krishna Rao and John Kumar, who resigned earlier this week, are also believed to be on their way to the BJP.

Mr Narayanasamy, however, said their resignations were not final and that he was confident of bringing them around. He accused the BJP of planning an "Operation Kamal (lotus)" in the Union Territory, using the opposition's term for what they call the BJP's strategy of engineering defections and toppling governments.

"The BJP is poaching MLAs, threatening them. But I know the BJP well, they are giving false promises to lure MLAs. People are talking about it, this MLA has been purchased, this minister has been purchased," Mr Narayanasamy said. In the 2016 polls, the BJP contested 18 of 30 seats and lost all. This time, the party is banking on imports from the Congress, especially regional heavyweights who built a strong base for the Congress over the years.

With input from ANI