AAP wins confidence motion in Punjab Assembly

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab won a confidence motion in the 117-member Assembly on Friday.

The motion was moved by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during a special one-day session, days after seven of the AAP’s ten MPs in the Rajya Sabha split from the party and announced that they were joining the Bharatiya Janata Party’s legislature unit.

The AAP has a majority in the Punjab Assembly with 94 MLAs. The Congress has 16 MLAs and the Shiromani Akali Dal has three. Two of the legislators belong to the BJP, one to the Bahujan Samaj Party and one is an Independent.

Of AAP’s 94 MLAs, 88 were present in the Assembly when voting on the confidence motion took place, reported The Times of India. While two MLAs are abroad, two are in jail and two were hospitalised.

The Congress had staged a walkout from the House and the BJP boycotted the session, according to The Hindu.

Mann said the motion was moved to counter rumours that members of the AAP were in contact with the Opposition parties.

AAP MP’s merger with BJP

On April 24, AAP’s former deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Raghav Chadha said that seven of the party’s 10 MPs in the Upper House were merging with the BJP.

He claimed that two-thirds of AAP’s members in the Rajya Sabha supported the move,...

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