The Congress government in the Union Territory of Puducherry lost its majority in the legislative Assembly on Tuesday as MLA A John Kumar tendered his resignation to Speaker V P Sivakolunthu. Amid this political crisis in the Union territory, Kiran Bedi was removed as Puducherry-LG.

Months before an election, the Congress government has lost its thin majority in the UT with four MLAs resigning since last month, two in the past two days.

Of the 30 elected MLAs in the assembly, Congress had 15 members and, along with the DMK’s three and one independent member, was just past the majority mark of 16.

After the resignations, the government and the opposition both are at 14. The Congress has 10 members, leaving the V Narayanasamy government one short of the majority mark, which is now 15 with the assembly strength dropping to 28.

The Congress has traditionally enjoyed a strong grip on Puducherry but this time round, it has faced rumblings over Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, seen to have been para-dropped after the 2016 election. Leaders that have walked out of the party had been resentful of his style of functioning and his endless feud with Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi.

With the latest development, both the ruling Congress-DMK alliance and AIADMK-BJP alliance have 14 MLAs each in the 33-member House, the Assembly, which includes three nominated MLAs, currently has 28 active MLAs. The Congress has 10 MLAs besides three DMK MLAs and an Independent supporting the ruling coalition. The Opposition comprises three nominated MLAs of the BJP, seven MLAs of NR Congress, and four of AIADMK.

The Opposition has demanded a floor test in the House, charging that the Narayanasamy government is already in minority.

In the simmering crisis in the UT, Puducherry lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi was removed from her post on Tuesday night. This development came in the course of a political crisis prior to election in the Union territory after the resignation of several Congress leaders from the V Narayanasamy government. Since it comes just ahead of the assembly elections in April-May this year, it becomes problematic for the Indian National Congress in Puducherry. President Ram Nath Kovind said, according to a brief communique issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan late in the evening, that Bedi “shall cease to hold the office of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry” and gave the additional charge of the Union territory to Telengana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.

“The President has directed that Dr. Kiran Bedi shall cease to hold the office of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry and has appointed Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana, to discharge the functions of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, in addition to her own duties, with effect from the date she assumes charge of her office, until regular arrangements for the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry are made,” the communique from the President’s office said.

The President’s order came on a day of precipitating political crisis, when the government in the UT led by Congress’ Narayanasamy, who has been at loggerheads with Bedi over a range of issues, was reduced to a minority after the resignation of legislator A John Kumar. He is the fourth Congress legislator to have quit over the last month. Kumar’s resignation came a day after health minister Malladi Krishna Rao had also quit.