After the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka collapsed on Tuesday, BJP state President BS Yeddyurappa is set to be elected as its legislative party leader and will stake claim to form the government.
“All our 105 legislators are meeting later in the day at the party office here to unanimously elect Yeddyurappa as the BJP’s legislature party leader and meet state Governor Vajubhai Vala to stake claim to form the new government,” party spokesman G Madhusudan told IANS.
The party’s state unit will also convey its decision to the BJP’s parliamentary board for its consent to allow Yeddyurappa to head the new government as its chief minister.
“If required, Yeddyurappa will go to Delhi for appraising the party’s leadership, including national president Amit Shah and its working President J.P. Nadda on the political situation in the state and the party’s prospects in forming a stable government at the earliest,” said Madhusudan said.
After a long tug of war between the coalition government and the BJP, which also reached the Supreme court, the Karnataka government fell on Tuesday after a trust vote to prove its majority.
The debate on the trust vote extended over days as the government missed two deadlines set by Governor Vajubhai Vala on Friday.
The defeat was almost certain as 15 rebel legislators, including 12 from the Congress and 3 JD(S), resigned from the house, and two Independents withdrew support. They also refused to withdraw their resignations or attend the session for voting in its favour during the floor test.
Read | Karnataka: HD Kumaraswamy loses trust vote, government falls
Meanwhile, the decision on the resignation of the rebel MLAs is yet to be decided by Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar.
With 15 rebel legislators of the Congress-JD (Secular) resigning from their Assembly segments across the state, the effective strength of the 225-member House has reduced to 210, with 106 as the new halfway mark for a simple majority.
The BJP now has 107 members, including the support of two Independents.
The Karnataka BJP termed it as a “victory of democracy”.
“It is a victory of democracy. People were fed up with the Kumaraswamy government. I want to assure people of Karnataka that a new era of development will start now,” said state BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa, who is set to be the Chief Minister for the fourth time. “It’s the victory of people of Karnataka. It’s the end of an era of corrupt & unholy alliance. We promise a stable & able governance to the people of Karnataka (sic),” the state BJP tweeted.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has already handed his resignation to the Governor.
Following the rout, Congress slammed the BJP.
“From its first day, the Cong-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka was a target for vested interests, both within and outside, who saw the alliance as a threat and an obstacle in their path to power. Their greed won today. Democracy, honesty and the people of Karnataka lost,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
Priyanka Gandhi also slammed the BJP, saying one day it will discover that everything cannot be bought and till then the citizens will have to endure their unbridled corruption.
The Congress leaders remarks came after the Congress-JD(S) government lost the trust vote on the floor of the Karnataka Assembly by six votes after a four-day debate on the confidence motion that was moved by Chief Minister Kumaraswamy.