Maharashtra crisis: Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray resigns ahead of floor test

MINUTES after the Supreme Court of India gave its go ahead to floor test in the Maharashtra assembly on Wednesday (29), the state's chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray, announced that he is resigning from his post.

"I am resigning as the chief minister," Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray announced. He also announced his resignation as a member of the legislative council.

Maharashtra crisis: India's Supreme Court refuses to stay assembly floor test

The MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi or Maharashtra Development Front) government in Maharashtra led by Thackeray's Shiv Sena has been facing a political crisis after a revolt in Sena. The rebel legislators led by Eknath Shinde have been camping in Guwahati in the north-eastern state of Assam.

Facing survival crisis, Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government plays Hindutva card by renaming cities

Thackeray also expressed gratitude to coalition partners Nationalist Congress Party and the Indian National Congress.

"I want to express my gratitude to the people of NCP and Congress that they supported me. From Shiv Sena, Anil Parab, Subhash Desai and Aaditya Thackeray, these people were only present when the proposal was passed while NCP and Congress people also supported the proposal," he said.

He also expressed gratitude to the Maharashtra cabinet over decisions taken earlier in the day.

"I am satisfied that we have officially renamed Aurangabad to Sambhaji Nagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv - the cities named by Balasaheb Thackeray," he added.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave its go ahead for floor test in Maharashtra Assembly on Thursday (30) as it refused to stay state governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's decision which was challenged by Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu.

"We are not staying tomorrow's floor test," the Supreme Court bench said.

The court also issued notice on Shiv Sena's chief whip Sunil Prabhu's plea and said that tomorrow's floor test will be subject to the outcome of the present petition. The court will hear his plea on July 11.

A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala had earlier in the day reserved the decision on the plea filed by Sunil Prabhu challenging Koshyari's direction to Thackeray to hold the floor test on June 30 (Thursday).

Koshyari had asked the Thackeray government to prove a majority on the floor of the House on June 30 stating that the "present political scenario" unfolding in the state paints a "very disturbing picture."

The governor wrote to the state Assembly secretary to convene a special session of the state assembly on Thursday with the only agenda of a trust vote against Thackeray.

Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis, a former chief minister, had met the governor on Tuesday (28) evening after returning from Delhi, and submitted a letter to him demanding an immediate floor test.