Karnataka Verdict: Kumaraswamy To Take Oath As Chief Minister On Wednesday

The JD(S)-Congress alliance has deferred the oath-taking ceremony by two days. HD Kumaraswamy was earlier scheduled to be sworn in as chief minister of Karnataka on Monday, May 21. He will now take office on Wednesday.

Supreme Court ensured that the BJP was not given time to poach MLAs, says senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal. The 15-day time period given by the Governor would have allowed them to break other parties, he said in an interview to BloombergQuint.

The Congress and JD(S)‘ decision to keep MLAs together in a resort was done to prevent an “illegality which is highly undemocratic”, he said.

He added that opposition strategy will differ state-to-state and the Congress “will be aligned with ideologically like-minded parties to oppose BJP”.

Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy will take oath as Karnataka's chief Minister on Monday between 12 noon and 1pm. JD(S) and Congress alliance will also discuss modalities of the alliance.

Like Yeddyurappa, even Kumaraswamy has been given 15 days by the governor to prove his majority in the assembly.

Kumarswamy further said, he is not scared of any income tax raids, and is prepared to face any eventualities. “Central government is misusing Income Tax Department to scuttle opposition efforts”, he added.

The oath taking ceremony will be attended by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Kumaraswamy has also invited Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.

JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy reaches Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Vajubhai Vala, to stake claim for forming government, reports ANI.

JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy will meet Governor Vajubhai Vala at 7.30 pm today, to stake claim for forming government, according to wire agency ANI

The BJP’s attempt to “subvert democracy” in Karnataka has “failed miserably”, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a Tweet after the collapse of the three-day old B S Yeddyurappa government in the state.

Yeddyurappa’s resignation will pave the way for formation of a government led by JD(S) state chief H D Kumaraswamy, who has the backing of the Congress. The newly formed alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221.

(With inputs from PTI)

• BS Yeddyurappa has followed highest democratic tradition by submitting his resignation.
• Rahul Gandhi's comment that Congress has defeated BJP is laughable.
• BJP has not failed, we have increased our seat to 104 from 40.
• Congress is celebrating their defeat as victory.
• JD(S) and Congress are two warring parties, and negative alliance doesn't work.
• Congress has no faith in Constitutional institutions, the Supreme Court and media.

BS Yeddyurappa submits his official resignation to Governor Vajubhai Vala, shortly after announcing to step down as the chief minister of Karnataka.

The opposition will continue to stand together and defeat BJP, said Rahul Gandhi in a press statement. BJP believes every single institution can be trampled upon by them, he said further adding, the party has disrespected the mandate of the people of Karnataka, Goa and Manipur.

• Prime minister is not bigger than people of India, the Supreme Court, or the members of parliament.
• He needs to stop thinking that he’s bigger than people of this country.
• BJP is attacking every institution, including the media.
• PM’s model of leadership is that of a dictator.

JD(S) legislative party chief HD Kumaraswamy said in an interaction with the media that he is waiting for an invitation from the Governor to form the government.

Senior Congress party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed similar thoughts and said, the party is waiting for the Karnataka Governor to invite HD Kumaraswamy to form the government.

None of the members of the Congress, JD(S) combine defected despite BJP’s efforts, Azad said in a press statement. “It is a victory for democracy, the Constitution and rule of law.”

The Congress and JD(S) have nothing in common between them and the only reason they have come together is to capture power, according to BJP spokesperson Narendra Taneja. “The people of Karnataka have voted against the Congress.”

He added that the mandate was in BJP’s favour. But they realised that they didn’t have sufficient numbers on the floor and that’s when Yeddyurappa decided to resign.

Nobody really liked the drama that had been going on for the past few days, according to Congress spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa. “I am happy that its finally over.”

Kalappa said that both Congress and JD(S) realised that they had to come together to fulfill the people’s mandata. He added that there are no doubts of this being a “short-lived alliance”. “Certainly we will benefit from this even in the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

BS Yeddyurappa has stepped down as Karnataka chief minister just two days after taking charge. “If only people would have given us 113 seats instead of 104, we would have made this state a paradise,” he said in the legislative assembly.

BS Yeddyurappa addresses Karnataka Assembly ahead of the floor test, says the mandate wasn’t for Congress or JD(S). BJP has made all efforts to solve the problems of the people, and wanted to rightfully form the government, he added.

He said he will do everything to protect the interest of the farmers, who aren’t getting water or fair prices. “Farmers are food providers, will do everything in my power to protect their interests.”

Reportedly missing Congress MLA Anand Singh reached Vidhana Soudha, accompanied by DK Shivakumar. Singh and Patil take oath as MLA ahead of floor test.

Union Minister Ananth Kumar and Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa are in the CM's chamber in Vidhana Soudha, reports ANI.

DK Shivakumar, senior Karnataka Congress leader and MLA from Kanakapura says BS Yeddyurappa will resign ahead of the floor test.

He added that Pratapgouda Patil, who was reportedly missing, has arrived and will vote for the Congress.

One of the ‘missing’ Congress MLAs Anand Singh was seen leaving Bengaluru’s Goldfinch hotel, ANI reported. Anand Singh, and Pratap Gowda Patil - have been reportedly missing for the past few days.

The Congress Party downplayed Supreme Court's rejection of their plea against the pro-tem speaker's appointment, saying that their primary concern was ensuring transparency in the floor test. The apex court's decision to allow videography of the proceedings assuaged the party's fears, Kapil Sibal said in a press conference.

If the party had pressed the issue of the pro-tem speaker's appointment, it'd have delayed the floor test, and that's something the Congress-JD(S) combine didn't want, he added.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and former CM Siddaramaiah were among the elected representatives who took oath as Members of the Legislative Assembly today.

The Supreme Court today rejected the plea by the Congress Party and Janata Dal (Secular) challenging the appointment of pro-tem speaker KG Bopaiah.

The apex court ruled that Bopaiah will continue as the pro-tem speaker of the Karnataka Assembly and that the floor test will go on as scheduled at 4 p.m. The apex court gave the go-ahead to telecast the proceedings live, as requested by the counsels of the petitioners. “Live broadcast of the floor test would be the best way to ensure transparency of the proceedings,” the bench noted.

Mukul Rohatgi responded to the Supreme Court's ruling saying that the Congress' "desperate attempts" have failed.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the live feed of the floor test would ensure transparency. He added that he's confident the Congress and the JD(S) will emerge victorious in the floor test this evening.

Supreme Court began hearing Congress-JD(S)' plea challenging the appointment of KG Bopaiah as the pro-tem speaker of the Karnataka Assembly.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal are appearing for the Congress and the JD(S), while Attorney General KK Venugopal and Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta along with Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi are defending the appointment of the pro-tem speaker. Senior Advocate Ram Jethmalani is also present in the court, according to news agency ANI.

Mukul Rohatgi, who is appearing in the Supreme Court on behalf of the BJP, said that KG Bopaiah was adequately qualified to be the pro-tem speaker. Rohtagi added that he was very confident that the apex court would reject the Congress' plea as the appointment of the pro-tem speaker is purely the Governor’s discretion.

The BJP is holding a legislature party meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bengaluru. The MLAs will be taken to the assembly after the meeting.

Congress MLAs have already been taken to the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the state legislature of Karnataka. Security has been beefed up around the Vidhana Soudha ahead of the floor test at 4 p.m. today.

Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing and the floor test, BS Yeddyurappa said he was 100 percent confident of proving the BJP’s majority in the Karnataka Assembly. He added that he will start implementing his pre-poll promises, including farm loan waivers, within 24 hours of winning the floor test.

The floor test to prove majority of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Karnataka assembly will be held at 4 p.m. today in accordance with rules of the house. Before that, the Supreme Court will hear Congress’ plea against the Governor’s choice for pro-tem speaker. Get all the live updates here.

But before that, here’s a quick recap of everything that’s transpired since the results of the Karnataka assembly elections were announced on Tuesday.

The Karnataka election results threw up a fractured mandate, with BJP emerging as the single-largest outfit but falling short of a majority. The saffron party with 104 seats is eight short of 112 to cross the halfway mark. The Congress and JD(S), which announced a post-poll tie-up, won 78 and 37 seats, respectively.

Elections for remaining two constituencies will be held on May 28.

Governor Invites BJP To Form Government

Late on Wednesday, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala invited BJP’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa to form the government, and gave him 15 days to prove majority support on the floor of the assembly.

Congress Moves Supreme Court

Hours later, the Congress and JD(S) moved the Supreme Court, challenging this decision. In its petition, the Congress had sought quashing of the governor’s invitation to Yeddyurappa to form the government, terming it “unconstitutional, arbitrary and illegal”. Such an action is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, it added.

Late Night Hearing

In a dramatic turn of events, Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra constituted a three-judge bench for the case, which began hearing the petition at 2 a.m., Thursday.

The apex court refused to stop the BJP from taking oath on Thursday morning as the new government in Karnataka, but said it remained subject to the final outcome of the petition. The court direct the Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, to produce the letter written by BJP Karnataka leader BS Yeddyurappa to the state’s governor, by the next hearing on Friday, May 19. The letter states the number of legislative assembly members supporting the BJP.

Yeddyurappa Takes Oath

Accordingly, Yeddyurappa took the oath as Karnataka chief minister at 9:00 a.m. the same day.

Congress, RJD Step Up The Attack

After Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision to invite BJP to form a government in the state, Congress and alliance partner RJD approached governors of Bihar, Goa, Meghalaya and Manipur asking for a review of their earlier decisions where the single largest party was not called upon to form a government.

The Congress had emerged as the single largest party in Goa, Meghalaya and Manipur assembly elections but the BJP, which had fewer seats, eventually formed governments in these states with the support of regional parties. The governors in each of these states had chosen to invite the largest post-poll alliance instead of the single largest party to form governments.

The outcome in Bihar was less straightforward. The pre-poll alliance of the Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress won the 2015 election with 177 seats in the 243-seat assembly. Nearly two years later, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar broke away from the alliance to partner with the BJP. The RJD, though, is still the single-largest party with 80 seats – a fact they chose to remind the governor on Thursday.

Apex Court Directs Floor Test At 4 P.M. Today

On Friday, the Supreme Court directed the BS Yeddyurappa-led BJP to prove its majority in a floor test in the Karnataka assembly at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The bench asked Yeddyurappa, the interim chief minister, to not take any executive decisions till then. The court also barred the nomination of an Anglo-Indian MLA, Vinisha Nero, by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala till the BJP is able to prove its majority.

The court made it clear that they are making any orders on the challenge related to the decision of the Governor to invite BS Yedurappa to form the government and that will be heard separately. The next date of hearing for that is after 10 weeks.

Congress Moves Supreme Court Again. This Time, Against Choice Of Pro-Tem Speaker

On Friday, Governor Vala appointed BJP MLA KG Bopaiah as the pro-tem speaker to conduct the crucial floor test. The appointment created a furore in the Opposition camp that wanted Congress’ RV Deshpande to be the interim speaker on account of his seniority in the assembly.

The pro-tem speaker is a temporary speaker appointed for a limited time period to conduct the works in Lok Sabha or in state legislatures. When the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies have been elected, but the vote for the speaker and deputy speaker has not taken place, the pro-tem speaker is chosen to conduct business of the house.

The Congress-JD (S) combine moved the Supreme Court again, with the top court deciding to hear at 10:30 a.m. today. The matter will be heard by a three-judge bench, headed by Justice AK Sikri and comprising Justice SA Bobde and Justice Ashok Bhushan.