The Arjun Munda government in Jharkhand on Tuesday comfortably won a vote of confidence in the 81-member assembly, bringing the curtains down on a fortnight-long political drama in the state after the elections threw a hung assembly.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA also got its nominee Indersingh Namdhari elected as speaker in a voice vote.
Later, after a 15-minute break, the new speaker allowed Chief Minister Munda to move his motion of confidence.
But as the opposition United Progressive Alliance members trooped to the well of the House, Namdhari put the motion to vote. After asking those in support of the vote to raise their hands, he declared that the motion of confidence has been carried by 40 votes.
Later, outside the House, he told reporters that the opposition count was 37.
He said besides Nationalist Congress Party member Kamlesh Singh, who is in hospital, two other members Joba Manjhi (United Goans Democratic Party) and Sukhram Oraon (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) -- were absent during the vote.
Munda was sworn in as CM on Saturday after JMM chief Shibu Soren resigned on Friday.
Earlier, as the House assembled, the opposition insisted that pro-tem Speaker Karia Munda should take up the disqualification proceedings against the NCP member and minister Enos Ekka, who, they claimed, had violated party whips by supporting the government.
Karia Munda made it clear that he could only take up the business of speaker's election and other issues could be taken up later.
Then he put the motion for Namdhari's candidature to a voice vote and declared him elected amidst protest from the opposition.
After winning the trust vote, CM Munda, when asked about ministerial expansion, said, "Very soon... Within 2-3 days".
He denied there was any problem in the NDA on the issue of allotting ministerial portfolios.
