Four days after he was back in saddle as Haryana Chief Minister for the second straight term, Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday won the vote of confidence in the state assembly.
Hooda, chosen by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for the top job despite decline in party's strength in the assembly, won the trust motion with 47 members voting in its favour in the 90-member House.
Soon after he took oath as Chief Minister on Sunday, the veteran Jat leader was asked by Governor Jagannath Pahadia to prove his majority on the floor of the House within a week.
The Congress emerged as the single largest party bagging 40 seats in the just-concluded assembly election, but managed to cobble a majority after securing unconditional support of seven independents.
62-year-old Hooda insisted on a head count after INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala objected to Speaker Harmohinder Singh Chatha's advise that the motion be passed by a voice vote.
Thirty-nine Congress members, seven Independents and a lone BSP member voted in favour of the motion in the head count.
Earlier, Chatha of the Congress was elected Speaker of the House.
In the October 13 assembly election which threw up a hung House, the INLD finished second garnering 31 seats.
The Haryana Janhit Congress-BL won six seats, the BJP four and the BSP and the SAD one each.
Hooda first became the Chief Minister on March 5, 2005. PTI
