The chief minister of India's western state of Maharashtra, the richest state in the country, resigned late on Wednesday, after a group in his ruling party defected to the opposition.
The resignation of Uddhav Thackeray, head of regional party Shiv Sena, will allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a government in the state as the defecting group transferred its allegiance to the BJP.
Thackeray decided to step down, minutes after the Supreme Court ruled that he must prove tomorrow that his government still has a majority.
Maharashtra is the country's second most populous state and home to India's financial capital of Mumbai.
Trump says US needs to own Greenland to deter Russia, China
Swiss prosecutors summon owners of ski resort bar after deadly blaze
Death toll in Philippines landfill collapse rises to 4
Trump cancels second wave of attacks on Venezuela after cooperation
Widespread power cuts, travel disrupted as Storm Goretti hammers northern Europe
