Telugu Desam Party (TDP) exited from the Narendra Modi government and moved a No-Confidence motion against it in the Lok Sabha on Friday, but his party BJP said it has the numbers to easily defeat the move.
The blow, not by numbers but in perception, to ruling coalition NDA ahead of next year's national elections comes a day after another party from Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), made a similar move. These are the first such motions against the present government.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan took up both notices amid protests but deferred any decision on them till Monday when Parliament resumes, saying the "House is not in order".
BJP's troubles with its regional partners come when the Opposition's attempt to band together ahead of 2019 has been expedited the party's loss in three Lok Sabha by-elections on Wednesday.
Congress criticised Mahajan's decision, accusing the government of staging protests to save itself from embarrassment.
TDP has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha, while YSRCP has nine. A no-confidence motion can be accepted only if it has the support of at least 50 members in the House. Congress, CPM, TMC and some other Opposition parties quickly said they will support the move against the government.
Both Union ministers from Andhra Pradesh's ruling TDP quit last week to protest the Centre's refusal to grant the southern state special category status. The two no-confidence motions target voters in Andhra Pradesh ahead of next year's state elections.
The BJP-led NDA government still has a comfortable majority in the current 539-member Lok Sabha, and the motion, if accepted, is likely to be defeated.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the whole country has full confidence in Modi as does the House. "The government has the numbers... We are ready to take up no-confidence motion, confidence motion or any other discussion on the floor of the House," he said.
BJP alone has the support of 274 MPs. Its 41 allies take the number to 315 — well above the current halfway mark of 270. But these 41 include 18 from sulking Shiv Sena that has still not said which way it will vote.
"Our stand is clear from day one," said a senior Shiv Sena leader, "We will stay in power and continue to raise people's issues. It was Shiv Sena who raised its voice against GST, land acquisition and demonetization. We compelled the BJP to change its stance from time to time. Why did Chandrababu Naidu stay quiet then? The government is in majority and hence this No-Confidence motion won't stand its test. We will be neutral on the motion.
We have made it crystal clear that we will fight 2019 alone without any alliance with the BJP."
The party added that "the Modi wave is over".
AIADMK, which had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls against BJP but is generally seen to be its ally, has 37 MPs.
Shiv Sena, AIADMK and TRS are expected to be neutral and may abstain from voting.
AIADMK sent out a strong pro-BJP signal by expelling its spokesperson KC Palanisamy, who earlier in the day said that the party would support the no-confidence motion if the Centre fails to set up the Cauvery Management Board.
AIADMK is under tremendous pressure from Opposition parties and farmers' associations to support the motion against the Modi government which has remained non-committal on setting up of the Board.
TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu blamed PM Modi for "injustice" to his state.
YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy said, "After four years of relentless struggle and fight by YSRCP with people's support for special category status, finally the nation, including TDP, wakes up."
Numbers show no threat to coalition
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