Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami proved his majority support in the Assembly winning the motion of confidence with the support of 122 AIADMK MLAs.
The 11 MLAs of the rival faction led by O Panneerselvam, former chief minister, voted against.
The votes for, against or neutral was assessed based on a head count of individual members.
Just the ruling party totalling 133 MLAs including the rival OPS’s faction was present in the House when the Speaker P Dhanapal conducted the voting.
The main Opposition, DMK was evicted for stalling the proceedings. The Congress and IUML staged a walkout in protest.
The entire Opposition including the OPS faction of the AIADMK, DMK and the Congress was united in demanding that the vote on the motion of confidence be conducted through a secret ballot or that the House should be adjourned and the session conducted a week later after the ruling party MLAs, visit their constituency, and understand the voters’ sentiments.
The DMK members rushed to the well of the House, surrounded the Speaker and stalled the proceedings. The Speakers podium and Assembly Secretary's desk and chair were smashed in the melee. The Assembly Speaker Dhanapal adjourned the House twice but the Opposition was unrelenting.
Voting could be conducted only after the Speaker ordered them to be evicted and most of the members including the Opposition Leader had to be carried out bodily as they resisted.
Dhanapal said he would go by the rule book and conduct the elections by a head count. The voting was held at 3.07 pm and by 3.20 pm the Speaker announced the results.
A timeline of events in the Assembly today:
(3.23 pm) EPS government gets 122 votes; 11 against
(3.22 pm) Palaniswamy govt wins trust vote
(3.15 pm) MLAs to say Yes or No to motion
(3.13 pm) Floor test begins without DMK, Congress
(3.05 pm) Assembly reconvenes
(2.58 pm) Stalin says 'I was manhandled'
(2.57 pm) Stalin, DMK MLAs come out of Assembly
(2.40 pm) Congress, DMK MLAs, Stalin evicted
(2.20 pm) DMK MLAs being evicted from House
(2 pm) Deputy Speaker Pollachi V. Jayaraman comes out of the Speaker's office.
(1.45 pm) Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan enters Assembly Speaker's office. She told Marshals she was called by the Speaker and was allowed inside.
(1.30 PM) Assembly adjourned till 3 pm
(1.24 pm) Resolution moved; Speaker orders voting
(1.17 pm) DMK MLAs expelled from House
(1.05 pm) House in session again
(12.45 pm) Assembly staff injured; taken away in ambulance
(12.40 pm) Ambulance arrives in Assembly
(12.28 pm) Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal leaves the House escorted by marshals
(12.14 pm) Assembly adjourned till 1 pm.
(12.05 pm) Speaker gheraoed by MLAs of OPS camp and Opposition seeking a secret ballot. Slogans being raised demanding secret ballot. The ruling party is opposing the desire for secrecy.
(11.45 am) Since there is no official information from the Assembly hall as representatives can't communicate and audio has been cut off, we are unable to provide information now.
11.34 am: Speaker Dhanapal rejects Stalin's request of conducting floor test on another day.
It is a vote by division in the floor test happening in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Proceedings in the floor test for the Edapaddi Palaniswamy government began in the midst of chaos on Saturday morning.
The OPS faction of the AIADMK and the Opposition had sought a secret ballot.
TN Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami was not in favour of secret ballot as it could lead to cross voting.
He proposed the floor Test in the State Assembly.
Audio of assembly proceedings have been cut off in the secretariat press room.
Earlier, the O. Panneerselvam camp appointed sitting MLA Semmalai as the party whip and sent a letter to the Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal to this effect.
AIADMK Presidium Chairman E Madhusudhanan and AIADMK Treasurer O Panneerselvam in the letter said they had appointed S Semmalai as the party whip, prior to the motion of confidence in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
As per AIADMK party rules and regulations, in the absence of the General Secretary, party functionaries appointed by the previous General Secretary shall perform these functions.
Tamil Nadu is facing its first floor test in 30 years. After non-stop frenzy since O. Panneerselvam’s Marina revolt, the scene has now shifted to the Assembly where Edappadi K. Palaniswami is seeking a trust vote. The lone IUML member has decided to oppose the motion.
Of the AIADMK’s official strength of 134, there are 11 dissidents including former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam. On Friday, former Chennai Police Commissioner R. Natraj, the AIADMK’s Mylapore constituency MLA, decided to throw in his lot with Mr. Panneerselvam.
Nonetheless, the AIADMK whip S. Rajendiran issued a directive to all party MLAs to attend the Assembly and vote in favour of the motion.
The need for moving a confidence motion arose after a group of MLAs declared support to Mr. Panneerselvam, who now heads the rebel AIADMK.