Nine of the turncoats were fielded by the BJP and 10 by the Samajwadi Party.
Raghuvar Das, the national vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party will be the first non-tribal chief minister of Jharkhand after he was elected the leader of BJP legislative party.
The development came against the backdrop of the ruling party accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to poach its MLAs to topple the Kamal Nath-led government, which enjoys a wafer thin majority in the House, and imminent expansion of the state Cabinet.
In a veiled attack on CM Shinde, Thackeray said the 'Kansa Mama', a reference to a character in Mahabharat, is busy getting rakhis tied on his wrists and asked when he will get justice for the nieces.
'The Hindu electorate is more or less in the BJP defined space now.'
There was speculation that he might meet the party's All India Congress Committee in-charge of Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and other senior leaders, but sources close to Pilot said no meetings were fixed.
With all eyes on the Congress's next step in Rajasthan after Sachin Pilot's fast in Jaipur on Tuesday, AICC in-charge of state Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Wednesday said he agrees with the issue of corruption taken up by Pilot but the manner in which it was raised was not right.
She is the first woman chief minister of Gujarat.
The MLAs -- Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumtalli, Umesh Jadhav, and Nagendra -- did not ascribe any reason for not attending the opening day's session.
The teacher was kidnapped and murdered on October 8, while her body was exhumed from a school playground on October 19. Two people, including the prime accused, were arrested.
He criticised the ruling UPA for its failure to bring in the Women's Reservation bill aimed at reserving seats for women in the Parliament and state legislature.
Fearing poaching from the BJP, the MLAs were moved and expected to be lodged in five-star hotels or resorts.
"I sometimes think of leaving it, but the chief minister's post doesn't leave me," Ashok Gehlot famously said earlier this year, in part as a signal to the Congress top brass not to pick someone else for the job if the party wins the assembly polls.
Surveys suggest that the AAP would win 40 seats in the 182-member assembly if elections are held tomorrow.
A day after the Maharashtra assembly polls gave a fractured verdict, the political picture continues to remain nebulous with speculation rife about whether it will be a Nationalist Congress Party-propped Bharatiya Janata Party ministry or a coalition regime with the Shiv Sena.
Saini, who is an MP from Kurukshetra, was unanimously elected as the leader of the state BJP legislature group and will be sworn in later in the day, party MLAs Subhash Sudha and J P Dalal told reporters.
Eknath Shinde has been made chief minister to crush the Shiv Sena totally, completely, wholly, point out Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
The Sena-UB has fielded popular wrestler Chandrahar Patil from Sangli despite the Congress announcing Vishal Patil's name from the same seat.
Amid signs of factionalism within the state unit, Kharge is likely to instruct the party leaders to work in a united manner for ensuring victory.
"We have not accepted any new condition from the PDP," said Madhav, the party's pointsman in the state.
There are concerns within the Congress with respect to the articulation of the party's demand for the caste census, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently accusing the grand old party of attempting to divide Hindus through its push for the Other Backward Classes.
New Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Monday said controlling the 'alarming' COVID-19 situation in the state is his first priority and his aim will be to make the state one of the top five in the country in the next five years.
Seventy-seven MLAs were present in the assembly during the voting.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' will also participate in Uttarakhand BJP legislative party meeting in Dehradun later on Wednesday.
We will defeat them in the Speaker's election itself. We are sure the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP will form the government," Nawab Malik said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Friday that he would first speak with Nawab Malik to understand the former minister's position about his political affiliation before explaining his Nationalist Congress Party group's stand on the matter.
Negi's remarks came after Kangana shared images of her visit to a flood-devastated region of her home state.
The veteran leader is also expected to use his good offices in unifying the faction-ridden party in the state, ahead of assembly elections just six months away.
What was the "locus standi" of Sonia Gandhi when she along with the then prime minister Manhoman Singh inaugurated legislative buildings in Manipur and Tamil Nadu, the Bharatiya Janata Party asked on Wednesday while countering the Congress's criticism over the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
NCP MLA Anil Patil has expressed faith in the leadership of Sharad Pawar, indicating his return to the party fold.
The swearing-in ceremony of Pramod Sawant as Goa's chief minister will be held on March 28 and prominent Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will attend the event.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday assured his government will continue the Ladki Bahin Yojana and fulfil Mahayuti's pre-poll promise of hiking the monthly stipend under the scheme to Rs 2,100 from Rs 1,500 now to eligible women.
The 17th Lok Sabha, which was dissolved on June 5, did not have a deputy speaker for its full term, and it was the second consecutive term of the lower house without an LoP.
The names of several probables, including Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who had led the BJP government in the state in the past, were doing the rounds at the state party office.
The chief minister's decision came on a day when two top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders returned the gifts given to them by the Education Department amid indications that others may follow suit.
Both Sawant and Rane are being seen as top contenders for the post of chief minister in the state.
Patnaik, won his his home turf Hinjili by over 60,000 votes, while he was leading from Bijepur till early on Friday morning.
The speculation was triggered after Shravan Kumar, a Bihar minister, who is also the Janata Dal-United's in-charge for UP, said there were 'demands' that the party boss enter the fray from the adjoining state.
Describing Shiv Sena as a "natural ally", BJP dropped hints that it would prefer the estranged saffron party to be a partner in its government in Maharashtra even while Nationalist Congress Party's unconditional support continues to be on offer.
According to sources in the Congress, eight legislators are likely to be sworn in as ministers along with them.
