Devendra Fadnavis has plenty of hurdles to cross

In a major political twist, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra while Ajit Pawar of NCP's as his deputy. After Fadnavis took charge as the CM for the second term, there was a new vigour seen among BJP members. There were celebrations all over and the best wishes started pouring in. However, the way ahead is not going to be smooth for Fadnavis and his men. He has given the letter of support to the governor but he still has to pass the floor test. 

Mark the date

Fadnavis had submitted the letter of support to governor and he has been given a week's time to pass the floor test. This means that Fadnavis has time till 30 Nov to prove his majority. The BJP won 105 seats in the 288-member Assembly followed by Shiv Sena 56, NCP 54 and Congress 44 and Fadnavis need 145 seats in order to pass the floor test. 

In a press conference, Chandrakant Patil had already shared that they have the support of independent candidates, which takes their total number to 119. This necessarily means that BJP still needs the support of 26 more MLAs. It is expected that Ajit Pawar will be able to extend support of 20 to 22 MLA's to the Fadnavis. With these MLAs too BJP might be shy of the magic number by four to five seats. 

In addition, to this, the 20-22 MLAs that are changing stands and going with BJP might be charged with anti-defection law. The anti-defection law is applicable to sitting members of the Assembly. Under the law, a member may be disqualified if he/she voluntarily gives up the membership of the party. Once disqualified, the member cannot be a part of the floor test. In that case, too, the  288-member Assembly may get reduced to a 266 one and BJP will need the support of 134. In this situation, there is a possibility that BJP may join hands with independent candidates. 

These are some of the twists that BJP might have to face in order to prove their majority in the floor test and one will have to wait till 30th Nov to know that will Fadnavis be able to maintain his position or will there be another twist that we get to see.