4.10 pm: Congress members are protesting outside the Maharashtra Assembly over the voice vote that BJP won earlier in the day.
They are protesting against the decision of Speaker Haribhau Bagde to not hold a division vote, in which legislators use voting machines to record their votes, which are then counted.
Both Shiv Sena and Congress have demanded fresh voting.
1.45 pm: The Shiv Sena and Congress have accused the BJP of 'running away' from the confidence motion, and have decided to complain to the Governor to seek a new motion.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan was among the leaders who accused the BJP of not following the proper procedure to pass a confidence motion by voice vote.
1.13 pm: While the BJP won the trust vote on the floor of the House, the Shiv Sena also had something to cheer as Sena leader Eknath Shinde became the leader of opposition in the Maharashtra assembly.
12.44 pm: The BJP has won the trust vote in the Maharashtra Assembly by voice votes. The Speaker reportedly decided to not divide the votes.
The Shiv Sena is expected to get the Leader of Opposition position, given that it has the highest number of members in the opposition.
11.40 am: BJP's nominee for the Speaker's post, Haribhau Badge, has been elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly.
10.40 am: The NCP has said it will support the BJP in today's trust vote for the sake of stability in the state.
10.30 pm: The Shiv Sena, which had earlier on Wednesday announced that it would sit in the Opposition and vote against the BJP in today's trust vote, has withdrawn its candidate's name for the Speaker's post. The Congress is also said to have pulled out its candidate from the post.
BJP's Haribhau Bagde is thus set to be elected as the speaker in the Maharashtra assembly unanimously.
BJP's first chief minister in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, will seek a trust vote on Wednesday to keep his party in charge of the government, amidst high political drama and speculations.
While the BJP has faced endless uncertainties with its former ally Shiv Sena, as per latest news reports, the Sena has decided that it will vote against the minority government in today's trust vote.
"We have been asked to vote against the Maharashtra government in the Assembly," senior Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam said on Wednesday.
However, BJP may not be too jittery ahead of the vote, given that the Nationalist Congress Party has assured them of support.
"NCP legislators will either remain absent during the trust vote or support BJP. Either ways BJP will win the confidence motion," a BJP strategist told The Times of India.
The BJP, which has 121 members in the assembly, needs votes from at least 144 MLAs to remain in power. It is a win-win situation, even if the NCP chooses to abstain from the vote or if it decides to support the minority government.
The Sena has expectedly lashed out at the Sharad Pawar-led party, and has reportedly called the NCP a "mouse" in its latest editorial in its mouthpiece Saamna.
"Will BJP save the government with the help of a mouse?" its editorial on Monday said.
The politics in Wednesday's assembly session will not only be restricted to a trust vote, as there is heated competition for the Speaker's post in the assembly between BJP, Shiv Sena and the Congress.
BJP has nominated Haribhau Bagde for the post, Shiv Sena has named Vijay Auti, while the Congress has fielded Varsha Gaikwad. The NCP has not fielded any candidate for the Speaker's post.
Meanwhile, the post of the Leader of Opposition is also being eyed by the Shiv Sena and the Congress.
The assembly session will begin at 11 am with voting for the Speaker's post, followed by the trust vote, which is slated to take place around 4 pm.
