What is a floor test? Know what will happen in State Assembly today
On Saturday at 4 pm, the fate of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) will be decided on the floor of the House. With the Supreme Court having ruled that it is the Assembly which will decide which party has the rightful claim to form government, the focus now shifts to the terms and practices part of the parliamentary procedures of India.
What is a floor test?
A chief minister, in this case Yeddyurappa, appointed by the governor can be asked to prove his majority in case there is a doubt. A floor test is a way of deciding whether a government or a chief minister enjoys the support of the majority of the MLAs. The MLA-elect, with a yes or a no, vote to answer whether they support the particular person as the chief minister.
The floor test is a transparent process conducted in the Assembly and not privately with the governor. It is mandatory for the party to prove majority in order to form the government.
Tomorrow if Yeddyurappa, who was sworn-in as Karnataka's CM yesterday, is able to gather the support of more than 112 MLAs then he will continue to remain in power.
The Supreme Court has also said the pro tem speaker will take care of the proceedings and take decisions on the issue of the floor test.
Who is a pro tem Speaker and what is his role?
KG Bopaiah, a BJP leader, has been appointed as the Speaker Pro tem for today’s floor test in Karnataka assembly.
As provided by the Constitution, the Speaker vacates his office immediately before the first meeting of the newly elected house. Thereafter, the Governor appoints a member of the assembly as the Speaker Pro Tem. Usually, the senior-most member is selected for the position. The Governor administers the oath to the Pro Tem Speaker.
Pro Tem is the abbreviation of the Latin word, Pro tempore, which means ‘for the time being.’
The Speaker Pro Tem has all the powers of the Speaker. He/she presides over the first sitting of the house. His main duty is to administer oath to the newly elected member. He facilitates the house to elect the new Speaker. As soon as the new Speaker is elected, the office of Pro Tem ceases to exist.
How do the numbers stack up?
Out of the total 224 assembly seats, polls were conducted on 222 seats. The BJP has the highest number of seats(104) but not enough to form the government. On the other hand, Congress (78), JD(S) (37) and others (3) are also not in a position to form the government.
However, the invitation to form the government is with the BJP and the party has claimed the support of MLAs from other parties, but Congress and JD(S) are strongly denying that any of their members are in contact with the BJP and have asserted that their members are united. Congress and JD(S) have also claimed that they are in a position to form the government.
Governor’s role – What the Constitution says
Meanwhile, in Karnataka the Supreme Court has ordered the floor test to be conducted on May 19 instead of the 15 days deadline given by the Governor. The political developments took a dynamic turn in the state after Congress and other opposition parties went to Supreme Court over not being invited by the Governor to form the government. The Governor invited the BJP to form the government for being the single largest party.
The Governor has some options, and should go as per an order of preference set out it in the Sarkaria Commission recommendations and ratified by the apex court. As per the order of preference, the Governor can invite a) a pre-poll alliance of parties; b) invite the single largest party which stakes a claim to form the government with other’s support; c) invite post-poll alliance of parties, with all the partners in the coalition joining the government or d) invite a post-poll alliances of parties, with some becoming part of the government and some supporting from outside.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
