Yeddyurappa awaits Shah’s decision to stake claim

Bengaluru: It has been a testing time for Karnataka’s BJP state President B.S. Yeddyurappa, who is awaiting for party President Amit Shah’s call to stake claim to power in the state.

“I am waiting for our party’s Parliamentary Board decision that Shah will convey for our next course of action,” Yeddyurappa told reporters on Wednesday, a day after the 14-month-old JD-S-Congress coalition government fell.

“If our high command permits, we will hold the legislative party meeting to elect the leader in the presence of central observer and party’s state in-charge Muralidhar Rao,” he added.

The 75-year-old leader of the politically dominant Lingayat community and the BJP’s first Chief Minister in south India has headed the state thrice – first in November 2007 for a week after the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) withdraw support to his party, from May 2008 to July 2011 and for three days in May 2018.

“If all goes well, we will meet the Governor (Vajubhai Vala) at Raj Bhavan to stake claim and seek consent to take oath and form the government,” he said.

The BJP has 105 legislators and support of 2 Independents, which will be a majority if the 225-member Assembly’s strength is reduced to 210 – with action against 15 rebel Congress and JD-S lawmakers who resigned and face disqualification, as the new halfway mark will be 106.

As Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar is yet to accept or reject the resignations of the rebels or disqualify them, the BJP will be able to win the trust vote if they stay away from the House.

In the floor test on Tuesday, the JD-S-Congress coalition failed to win the confidence motion by 6 votes as they could muster only 99 against 105 of the BJP in a house of 204, excluding the Speaker and in the absence of 20 legislators – including 14 of the Congress, 3 of the JD-S, 2 Independents and one of the BSP.

Published on: July 24, 2019 at 23:36 IST

IANS