Bhopal, March 14 The Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh is entangled in the arithmetic of MLAs. The state government's future lies in the hands of 22 MLAs who have resigned. The rebel MLAs can either save or topple the Congress government.
The Kamal Nath government has been in a crisis for over the past one week. The crisis has deepened due to the rebellious attitude of as many as 22 Congress MLAs. Nineteen MLAs are in Bengaluru, of which 13 MLAs were issued notice by the Assembly Speaker N.P. Prajapati to mark their presence. However, they did not turn up.
The budget session of the state Assembly is scheduled to begin on March 16, while the election for the members of the Rajya Sabha is scheduled for March 26. Nominations have been filed.
Bhagwandas Israni, former Principal Secretary of the Assembly, told that the Speaker of the Assembly is giving the MLAs a chance to appear before him. As far as the Rajya Sabha elections are concerned, if the Congress issues a whip and the MLAs still remain absent they may lose their membership.
Of the 230 seats in the Assembly, two are vacant. Of the 228 MLAs, 114 are from the Congress, 107 from the BJP, two from the BSP, one from the SP and four Independents. 22 Congress MLAs have resigned. In such a situation, the Congress has only 92 MLAs left, Even if the Congress takes the support of the SP, BSP and independent MLAs, their number will still be only 99.
Barring the rebel Congress MLAs, the total number of MLAs in the Assembly will be 206. The magic number will be 104. In such a situation, the BJP has 107 MLAs, three more than the majority and the Congress will be five less than the half-way mark.
According to political experts, 19 rebel Congress MLAs are in Bengaluru and three at other places. It's not easy for these MLAs to return to the Congress. In such a situation, the victory of the second Congress candidate in the Rajya Sabha will not be possible, as the BJP will still be having more number of MLAs than the Congress.
Jyotiraditya Scindia is the major reason for the deepening crisis in the Congress government. Scindia left the Congress after 18 years and joined the BJP and filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections.
On the other hand, the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to bring back its legislators. Chief Minister Kamal Nath handed over a letter to Governor Lalji Tandon, accusing the BJP of being involved in horse trading of Congress MLAs.
Six state ministers have been dismissed from their posts.
( With inputs from IANS )