A floor test was held in the Uttarakhand Assembly clarifying ousted chief minister Harish Rawat's popularity in the House. Rawat is said to have got 33 out of 61 votes. A BJP lawmaker said only 28 MLAs voted for the national party and independent MLA Harish Chandra Durgapal claimed that all six Progressive Democratic Front MLAs voted for the former CM.
While the result of the confidence vote will only be presented on Wednesday, to the Supreme Court, Rawat is on cloud 9. “The cloud of uncertainty hovering over Uttarakhand will disappear tomorrow,” an elated Rawat said. Before the voting began, BSP chief Mayawati said her party would support the Congress. The Principal Secretary of Uttarakhand overlooked the floor test for which the President's Rule was kept in abeyance for two and a half hours. Ahead of the trust vote, Rawat who seemed visibly confident, said, “Uttarakhand will win today.” Another Congress leader, Indira Hridayesh said, “We're in complete majority. We have numbers. We'll prove majority.”
Rawat’s colleagues could barely contain their excitement. “Rawatji won’t say anything but we are party workers and we are excited. We had 33 votes, the BJP got 28,” said Sarita Arya, Congress MLA from Nainital. The number was two more than what the Congress needed to prove its majority.
Addressing Congress workers, Rawat said Wednesday will bring a new beginning and urged the Centre to support Uttarakhand’s development. “I want to thank all my supporters, the Supreme Court and most of all the people of Uttarakhand. Pichle do mahenein ek bhayanak sapne ki tarah the (The last two months were like a nightmare). But I want to forget all this and move forward. I want to tell the Centre, if you can give us a helping hand, please do that. You are mighty people, we are just a small state.”
BJP spokesperson Munna Singh Chauhan said Rawat shouldn’t expect smooth sailing ahead. “We are where we were on the March 18. In fact, we have marginally gained because the Congress is poorer by one MLA. They have lost their tenth MLA and if they think it’s a small loss, then God help them. The episode has weakened Rawatji’s position and he doesn’t have the confidence of his MLAs nor of his leadership.”
