Jharkhand floor test: What are the possible outcomes; what lies next

The Champai Soren-led coalition government in Jharkhand will seek a vote of trust today at 11 am during a special two-day assembly session.

JMM legislature party leader Champai Soren took oath as the chief minister on Friday after Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED on Wednesday in a money laundering case.

Champai Soren was administered the oath of office by Governor C P Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan. Along with him, senior Congress leader Alamgir Alam and RJD leader Satyanand Bhokta took oath as ministers.

Today, Hemant Soren, who gave up the CM's post before being taken into ED custody over money laundering linked to a land-scam case, will also be taking part in the floor test.

What is a floor test?

A floor test, also referred to as trust vote is usually conducted when a new government swears in. The primary goal of the exercise is to see if the executive enjoys the confidence of the legislature. Article 164 of the Constitution states that if the council of ministers, who are collectively responsible to the legislative Assembly, do not enjoy the support of the legislature, the executive has to step down.

What are the possible outcomes of a floor test?

In the floor test today, the Champai Soren-led coalition government is set to move a motion of confidence. Their aim is to win a majority of votes from the members present in the House.

With the Assembly's current strength at 80, the Champai Soren-led alliance will need at least 41 MLAs to vote in their favour to form the government. Champai Soren’s letter of support submitted to the Governor had included 43 signatures.

However, in any case, if they fail to garner the trust of majority members in the assembly, the chief minister, in this case, Champai Soren will have to resign.

In case of a tie, the Speaker has the deciding vote.

Biranchi Narain, Chief Whip of the BJP, said the coalition was set to lose the vote of confidence on Monday.

He said the MLAs in Hyderabad were kept under strict surveillance, which indicates that they were not confident of winning.

The opposition BJP convened its legislature party’s meeting yesterday to chalk out its strategy in the House.

"The saffron party will oppose the trust motion in the House tomorrow as Champai Soren, after taking oath as chief minister, had said he will take ahead the programmes of the previous Hemant Soren government.

However, the MLAs of the JMM-led alliance exuded confidence to win the trust vote in the assembly, soon after their return to Ranchi from Hyderabad last evening.

(With PTI inputs)