BJP invited to form Karnataka government
Yeddyurappa to take oath at a simple ceremony today amid tight security
Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala yesterday invited BJP legislative party leader B S Yeddyurappa to form the new government and to take oath as chief minister today, a party spokesman said.
“We received a communique from the Raj Bhavan, inviting Yeddyurappa to form the government and take oath at 9.00am,” BJP state unit spokesman Vamanacharya said here.
Only Yeddyurappa will take oath at a simple ceremony in the ‘Glass House’ on the lawns of the Raj Bhavan in the city centre amid tight security.
Vala also has asked 75-year-old Yeddyurappa to seek a vote of confidence within 15 days of assuming office as the chief minister.
The day witnessed hectic political developments, allegations and counter-allegations amid rising tensions.
During the day, the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of horse trading by offering Rs1 billion (Dh54 million) and cabinet berths to its MLAs while outgoing chief minister Siddaramaiah dragged Prime Minister Narendra Modi into the matter, accusing him of “encouraging” horse trading, a charge rejected by the BJP.
The BJP, the single-largest party with 104 seats that fell eight seats short of the magic number, elected Yeddyurappa as its legislative party leader.
Both the BJP and JDSCongress combine had staked claim to form the government in the state after it delivered a fractured verdict.
Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala has invited the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the next government. The party’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa will take oath at 9am today. The party has been given 15 days to prove majority in the house.
The BJP has 104 lawmakers in the 222-seat assembly and is eight seats short of majority. After proving majority, the cabinet will be sworn in.
Earlier in the evening, the Governor met a delegation of the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leaders, who also staked claim to form government, claiming they have majority.
Minutes after Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala invited Yeddyurappa to form the government yesterday evening, the Congress rushed to Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra to ask him to cancel the governor’s invitation to the BJP.
The Congress has called the governor’s decision an “encounter of the Constitution”.
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi had drawn up the petition in case the governor did invite Yeddyurappa and overlooked the claims of the Congress-Janata Dal Secular alliance.
There is also a plan B to approach President Ram Nath Kovind for redressal, sources said.
Amid intense jockeying for power in Karnataka, the JD(S)Congress combine’s chief ministerial candidate H.D. Kumaraswamy yesterday claimed the BJP offered his MLAs Rs1 billion (Dh54 million) in bribes to break ranks and back the BJP in forming a government, a charge rejected by the saffron party.
Horse-trading
A day after Karnataka delivered a split verdict in the Assembly polls, and the rival camps intensified efforts to outmanoeuvre each other in the race for forming the government, Kumaraswamy, who was elected the JD(S) legislature party leader, dropped the Rs1 billion bribe bombshell. “I want to know whether this is black or white money,” he told a press conference.
“The JD(S)-Congress combine has 116 MLAs [including JD(S) pre-poll ally the BSP]. The BJP is trying to misuse its power being at the Centre and form its government through horse-trading,” he said.
Kumaraswamy said though which party to invite first is the prerogative of the governor, “without the numbers how can they [BJP] form the government”.
He rejected outright the possibility of forming a coalition government with the BJP. “I am going to meet the governor with the state Congress president and formally stake claim to form the government,” he said.
‘Charges imaginary’
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar promptly dismissed the JD(S) charge, calling it “imaginary”.
“This [talk of] Rs1 billion, Rs2 billion is imaginary. The BJP is not doing this. We are not in the habit of practising horse-trading. This is the kind of politics JD(S) and Congress do. We are going by the rule book and we will form the government,” Javadekar said.
The allegation was, however, repeated by outgoing chief minister Siddaramaiah, who accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of encouraging horse-trading so the BJP returned to power.
When asked about reports that some of the 78 newly elected Congress MLAs had skipped yesterday’s meeting of its legislature party, he said, “We are all united”.
D.K. Shivakumar, the minister in the Siddaramaiah government who had hosted party lawmakers from Gujarat at a resort in Karnataka to prevent “poaching” by the BJP ahead of Rajya Sabha elections in that state, also claimed two MLAs who were reportedly missing were with the Congress.