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Gehlot Government to seek trust vote on Saturday

JAIPUR: The first session of the new Rajasthan Assembly beginning here on New Year’s Day will test the strength of the ruling Congress with the Ashok Gehlot Government going in for the vote of confidence on January 3. Mr. Gehlot, who took over as the Chief Minister on December 13, was given one month to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

Following the accommodation of as many as seven independent MLAs in the State Cabinet, the tally of the treasury in the 200-member House easily goes beyond the majority figure of 101. The Congress, which has 96 MLAs, claims to enjoy the support of 11 Independents – making passage of the vote of confidence almost a foregone conclusion.

The first day of the session will begin with swearing-in of the newly-elected MLAs, which is likely to continue till the next day. According to Assembly Secretariat sources, Speaker Pro-Tem Devi Singh Bhati will administer the oath of office to the members.

The election of the Speaker will be held on January 2 and followed by the customary address of Governor S. K. Singh on January 3. Assembly Secretariat sources said the floor test of the Congress-led Government would be taken up on that day after the obituary references.

Mr. Gehlot, who has announced transparent governance and clean administration as his priority areas, will not only be facing the strong stance of the opposition BJP but also the resentment of his own party members feeling left out in the first phase of the Cabinet formation.

The BJP is likely to exploit issues such as terrorism, reservation for Gujjars and the recent incident of eye infection among patients operated upon in a camp in Beawar to corner the ruling Congress. However, the Congress is confident of proving that most of the mess is of BJP’s own making during its five-year rule.

Mr. Gehlot has already met Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla and discussed with him steps to bring succour to the community. He also met senior Jat leader Parasram Maderna at the latter’s residence here on Tuesday and reportedly got some tips for dealing with the Opposition during the session.

The legislative work to be taken up during the session will include tabling of about a dozen Bills to replace the Ordinances promulgated by the previous BJP regime. The session is likely to continue till January 9.

In the Opposition camp, while the BJP has 78 MLAs, the Bahujan Samaj Party has six members, CPI (M) three, and Samajwadi Party, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party and JD (U) one each. There are three Independents who are not supporting the Congress.

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Gehlot Government to seek trust vote on Saturday

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