Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy (File)

Apart from one Congress MLA who was disqualified for anti-party activities last July, a total of five Congress MLAs have now resigned from the House in the last one month, including two senior Cabinet ministers. Three of them have already joined BJP.

Following a demand from the Opposition led by All India NR Congress founder N Rangasamy, the floor test was ordered Thursday by Tamilisai Soundararajan, the Telangana Governor, immediately after she was handed additional charge of Puducherry. Soundararajan was sworn in after the former Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi was removed from the post.

“Voting shall take place by show of hands. The entire proceedings of the Assembly shall be videographed. The floor test shall be conducted by 5 pm on February 22, and the proceedings shall not be adjourned or delayed or suspended at any cost,” said a statement from Soundararajan.

With Sunday’s resignations of the Congress’s K Lakshmi-narayanan and ruling ally DMK’s K Venkatesan, a Congress leader told The Indian Express: “Even if the Speaker invokes his right to vote, there is no chance of getting majority strength.”