NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
The eight-party Vilasrao Deshmukh-led Democratic Front government received a shot in the arm on Thursday after ten independent legislators, who reportedly had agreed to switch loyalties to Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party opposition, reposed faith in the eight-party ruling alliance.
Earlier, for last two days there were rumours in Vidhan Bhavan circles that some Nationalist Congress Party members and a section of independent members of the 289-member lower house were ready to join hands with the saffron alliance in an attempt to dislodge the DF government.
The reports gained credibility when leader of opposition in the state assembly Narayan Rane and BJP floor leader Gopinath Munde on Thursday evening approached speaker Arun Gujarathi asking the procedure for a member to resign from the assembly, sources in the opposition said.
This led to a flurry of political activity with senior NCP ministers including deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal holding a closed-door meeting to stave off danger to the government, NCP sources said.
The Sena-BJP's game plan was to ask NCP MLAs to resign and claim majority in the house on the support of independents.
The NCP MLAs were to be accommodated in the upper house with an assurance of a ministerial berth, a senior Sena functionary said.
However, the opposition's strategy failed to yield results, which apparently led to Sena chief Bal Thackeray's statement on Wednesday blaming a senior political leader from new Delhi of 'sabotaging' the Sena's good move.
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