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Deshmukh government wins confidence vote

Correspondent in Mumbai

The Vilasrao Deshmukh government won the confidence vote in the Maharashtra assembly on Thursday bagging 143 votes in its favour in comparison to 133 votes against it.

Almost immediately, Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party supporters and Congress-Nationalist Congress Party activists indulged in stone-throwing near Mantralaya, seat of the Maharashtra government. The police had to resort to lathicharge and lob teargas shells to disperse the crowd.

Earlier, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Arun Gujarathi disqualified seven of the eight dissident MLAs -- five from the Nationalist Congress Party, one from the Janata Dal (Secular) and one independent -- reducing the membership of the house to 281 members.

The Sena-BJP combine has approached the Bombay high court against the Speaker's ruling.

The five member Peasants and Workers Party, an estranged ally of the Deshmukh-led Democratic Front government, had decided on Wednesday evening to abstain from voting.

The political crisis was triggered by re-induction of NCP MLA Sunil Tatkare, who is alleged to have engineered the defeat of PWP nominee Supriya Patil in Raigad Zilla Parishad presidential polls.

Infuriated, PWP later withdrew support from the government followed by 5 NCP MLAs, reducing the government to a minority.

The Governor Dr P C Alexander had then asked the government to prove within 10 days its strength on the floor of the house. The spate of defections led to high political drama, with NCP-Congress MLAs flown to Indore and Bangalore by respective party leaderships to keep their flock together.

There were also serious charges and counter-charges about use of money and muscle power to wean away members to both sides.

Meanwhile, All India Congress Committee general secretary Vayalar Ravi said winning the trust vote was a great victory for the 'secular and democratic' forces and a crushing defeat for 'fascist, communal' forces in the state.

Ravi said that Congress would strengthen the government by 'eliminating whatever error was committed earlier and implement the common minimum programme effectively'.

He also expressed thanks to all the MLAs 'who stood the test of time'. "I am also grateful to the five PWP MLAs for not opposing the government," he added.

Inputs from PTI

Complete Coverage of the Crisis in Maharashtra

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