The no-confidence motion against the BJP government, which seems doomed to fail, to begin with, has suffered another blow after the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has ruled out supporting the motion against the NDA government. The TRS has 11 members in the Parliament. K Keshava Rao, TRS parliamentary Party leader and secretary general, said, “No question (of supporting the no-confidence motion). It is just a political gimmick. Can they muster 50 percent of the House?”
Telangana Rashtra Samithi, #TRS rules out its support for no-confidence motion against #NDA govt.
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) March 16, 2018
The Shiv Sena, after declaring recently that it will contest the 2019 elections alone, will support the no-confidence motion against the NDA government according to Republic. The decision was supposedly made after a phone call between Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray and Chandrababu Naidu.
Thus far, YSRCP, TDP, AIADMK, AIMIM, the Left and the Congress Party are supporting a no-confidence motion against the NDA government at the centre. Trinamool Congress looks set to support the motion as well after Mamata Banerjee welcomed TDP’s decision to quit NDA.
The BJP government, however, looks safe in its seat for now. Shiromani Akali Dal, which has 4 MPs and a part of the NDA, will most probably vote in favour of the NDA government. The 2 MPs from JD(U), BJP’s alliance partner in Bihar, will also likely vote against the motion. Apna Dal, which has 2 seats in the Lok Sabha and part of the NDA as well, is expected to support the government as well. Together with 274 MPs from the BJP, excluding the Speaker, the BJP appears to be in a safe position.
Therefore, despite several opposition parties and ex-allies coming together, the NDA government is almost certain to survive the no-confidence motion.