The BJP government in Uttarakhand headed by B C Khanduri on Wednesday won the vote of confidence in the state assembly amidst a boycott by the main opposition Congress.
Thirty-nine members supported the one-line motion moved by the chief minister, which expressed confidence in the government, while the eight BSP MLAs voted against it.
Significantly, the three-member Uttarakhand Kranti Dal and three independents supported the motion.
Congress, which has 21 members in the House with an effective strength of 69, had walked out earlier.
Governor Sudershan Agarwal had given Khanduri time till March 20 to prove his majority in the House.
Replying to the debate on the motion, Khanduri, who is not a member of the House, said his government would take along all the parties in the interest of the development of Uttarakhand.
Rejecting the opposition charge that his swearing-in ceremony was 'ostentatious', Khanduri said his government did not spent crores of rupees as being alleged by Leader of the Opposition Harak Singh Rawat.
Only Rs 11.91 lakh, including Rs 6 lakh on security, were spent on the swearing-in function, he said.
In 2002, when Congress came to power, the government spent Rs 4 lakh on the function which was held in the ONGC premises, he said adding, "The ONGC did not charge the main expenses at that time."
