Rabri to seek trust vote on Thursday

By K. Balchand

PATNA, MARCH 12. The Bihar Chief Minister, Mrs. Rabri Devi, who constituted her Cabinet by inducting one Minister, has decided to seek a vote of confidence on Thursday within six days of her assuming office and four days ahead of the deadline set by the Governor, Mr. V. C. Pande, to prove her majority in the Assembly.

Mr. Ramchandra Purve was today administered oath of office as a Cabinet Minister by the Governor and has once again been allocated the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, the Chief Minister is likely to expand her Cabinet in a day or two soon after the Congress(I) takes a formal decision on entering into a coalition with the RJD.

As on the two other occasions this is the third time that Mrs. Rabri Devi will be moving a trust motion after taking oath. She secured the confidence of the House on two earlier occasions, despite her Government being in the minority.

To reach that figure, the RJD would necessarily have to split the Samata Party and the JD(U) and win over all those independents that had supported the NDA.

While the CPI has decided to vote against the motion, the CPI(ML) at best would abstain. The absence of six CPI(ML) members would bring the effective strength of the House to 317. Apart from two vacancies, the Speaker will participate only in the eventuality of a tie.

With the half-way mark being 159, Mrs. Rabri Devi will have a slender majority of three. The fact, however, remains that two ``absconding'' MLAs are yet to take oath and if they continue to evade the law, the number required for a simple majority would come down by one.

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