Two BJP MLAs back Congress led govt in MP during voting on bill

New Delhi: In a political counterstrike, MP’s Kamal Nath government showcased the support of two BJP MLAs who voted for the government in the assembly on Wednesday. The development came hours after Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava boasted he could bring down the government within 24 hours of receiving a signal from the “number 1 and number 2 in BJP.”

The manoeuvring in Bhopal, a day after the BJP toppled the JDS-Congress government in Karnataka, has spiced up the political scene with reports indicating that the BJP is trying to upstage the Nath government. Soon after the vote, Nath said: “Everyday, BJP says we are a minority government that can fall any day. Today, during voting in the assembly, 2 BJP MLAs voted in favour of our government.” He also challenged BJP to give notice for a no-confidence motion.

The voting to amend the criminal procedure code received the support of 122 MLAs though the Nath government has the support of only 120 MLAs (excluding the Speaker). After the vote, Narayan Tripathi, one of the two BJP MLAs who voted in favour of the amendment said “this is my homecoming”, according to reports from Bhopal.


Tripathi had been in Congress before he switched over to BJP in 2014. He claimed the other BJP MLA who voted for the Congress government was Sharad Kol. Congress sources in Delhi claimed “there are more invisible friends of the Kamal Nath government” in the state assembly.

BJP, which has 108 MLAs in the assembly, had not participated in voting. Speaking in the backdrop of the collapse of the Kumaraswamy government in Karnataka, Bhargava had said the only reason the Congress-led coalition remained in power in MP was because he had not received orders from the party leadership in Delhi.