Nine Congress rebel MLAs joined hands with the opposition BJP,  to stake claim to form the government in Uttarakhand. Chief Minister Harish Rawat maintained that he had majority in the House, a three-member BJP delegation met Governor K K Paul late at night, seeking dismissal of the Rawat government. "We are ready to prove our majority."

He said the rebel MLAs "are in touch with us. They haven't left the Congress. We told our rebel MLAs that their behaviour is inappropriate, they should have spoken to us," he said.

CM Harish Rawat asserted that his government did not face any threat as it enjoyed "the trust of the people and the blessings of Lord Kedarnath and Badrinath".

In a House of 70, the Congress has 36 MLAs, with six members of Progressive Democratic Front-formed by two BSP MLAs, three Independents and one UKD MLA-backing it. With nine Bahuguna-led MLAs moving towards BJP, the saffron party, which has 28 MLAs, will reach the magic number.

The rebel MLAs were paraded before the governor in Dehradun by the BJP's state leadership on Friday night, after that the legislators took a chartered flight to Delhi. They are expected to meet BJP president Amit Shah today. Some rebel legislators have also said they want to call on President Pranab Mukherjee.

The nine rebel Congress legislators had earlier joined the opposition BJP in the state assembly to demand a division of votes on the finance bill. Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal rejected the demand for a physical vote on the Budget and declared it passed by a voice vote triggering chaos in the assembly. Opposition BJP and rebel Congress lawmakers protested with a sit-in inside the well of the house.  Mr Kunjwal adjourned the house till March 28.

By Premji