Amid BJP boycott, Thackeray govt wins with 169 votes

The Maha Vikas Aghadi led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday decisively won the vote of confidence securing 169 votes, considerably higher than the minimum of 145 required in the 288-member Maharashtra assembly.

Against the ruling alliance's 169, four members abstained while there was a zero against the trust resolution as the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party with 105 MLAs and other supporters boycotted the proceedings and staged a walkout.

The resolution seeking the House confidence in the Thackeray government was moved by Congress' Ashok Chavan, Nationalist Congress Party's Nawab Malik and Shiv Sena's Sunil Prabhu.

The trust vote came after a stormy start to the 2-day special Assembly session called specifically for the floor test and the election of Speaker.-IANS