The BJP is confident it has the numbers to win the floor test even though it has to fill a gap of eight votes to cross the majority mark in the Karnataka assembly.
Bengaluru, May 19:
BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa on Saturday will have to prove his majority in the Karnataka assembly to continue as the state’s chief minister after the Supreme Court ordered a floor test to settle the political tussle that emerged from the election results earlier this week.
The BJP won 104 seats in the polls to become the single largest party, but fell shy of the 112 majority mark in the 224-member assembly. The Congress, with 78 seats, and the Janata Dal (Secular), which won 37 seats, combined to stake claim to form the government. However, after Governor Vajubhai Vala on Wednesday invited Yeddyurappa to form government, the Congress-JD(S) approached the Supreme Court contesting the decision.
Saturday’s floor test comes after two days of political drama, including a rare late night Supreme Court hearing, shuttling of MLAs from Bengaluru to Hyderabad to prevent poaching, and trading of charges between the BJP and Congress-JD(S).
While the BJP has maintained its confidence in being able to summon the required support to continue as the ruling party in the state, the numbers do not stack up in its favour.
Further, the Congress-JD(S) has filed a petition in the apex court challenging the Governor’s move to appoint BJP leader KG Bopaiah, a relatively junior MLA, as the pro-tem Speaker who will preside over the floor test.
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Sighvi stated that convention dictates the senior most legislator, irrespective of party, is appointed pro-tem Speaker.
In the petition, the parties alleged Bopaiah has a “dubious and controversial record of passing biased disqualification orders”, and that the appointment was made “with the sole intent of manufacturing a majority out of minority for Yeddyurappa”.
Courtesy: Hindustan Times
