Maharashtra Political Crisis: What is a floor test?

The Thackeray government is going through a litmus test in the Maharashtra Assembly tomorrow (June 30). Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has ordered the Mahavikas Aghadi government to take a floor test and prove its majorityon June 30. A letter to the effect was issued to the Maharashtra Legislature Secretary by the Raj Bhavan late Tuesday soon after a delegation of the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) met the Governor and urged him for immediate directions to the MVA to prove its majority.

What is a floor test?
The majority test determines whether the current government has a majority figure. For this a special session of the Legislative Assembly is called. 

When a single party secures the majority of the seats in the house, the Governor appoints the leader of the party as the Chief Minister. In case the majority is questioned, the leader of the party which claims majority has to move a vote of confidence and prove majority among those present and voting. The Chief Minister has to resign if they fail to prove their majority in the house. This happens both in the parliament and the state legislative assemblies.

The number of MLAs who cast their votes determines the majority. Although the governor has ordered a majority test, the governor can not intervene in the process. The majority test is a transparent process. For this, the MLAs had to be present in person. The governor, in a letter to the chief minister, has ordered a head count. Meanwhile, the party issues a whip for MLAs to attend the assembly.

What is the majority figure in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly?
There are 288 MLAs in the state assembly. Therefore, a majority of 145 MLAs is required. The party with the highest number can form the government.