Ready to form government in Karnataka: DV Sadananda Gowda

BENGALURU: The BJP on Saturday said it is ready to form the government in Karnataka following fresh trouble in the ruling Congress-JD(S) government with resignations of 11 MLAs from the two parties and that party leader BS Yeddyurappa will be the chief minister.

Party leader and Chemicals and Fertilizers DV Sadananda Gowda told reporters here that the MLAs have decided to resign as they thought it was not in the interest of the people of the state and their constituency.

"This type of activities (were) are going on in Karnataka. Today they thought that it is high time to come out of that party and resign from the legislator's post because they felt that continuing as MLA (is) not good in larger interest of the constituency and the state. So they have resigned," he said.

Asked if the next government will be that of BJP, Gowda said the Governor is the supreme authority as per the constitutional mandate.

"If he calls us, certainly we are ready to form the government as we are the single largest party. We have got 105 people with us," he said.

Gowda denied BJP had any role in the resignations when asked if it was part of "Operation Kamala".

"Hundred per cent not. The media has shown the MLAs who went to meet Speaker,. No BJP leader or MLAs were behind them. They voluntarily went to the Speaker and submitted their resignation. So it shows there is no interference by the BJP at any point as far as resignations are concerned," he said.

Asked about BJP's chief ministerial candidate, he said Yeddyurappa has been declared as chief ministerial candidate. "He will be chief minister if a new government is formed," Gowda said.

The dissidence-plagued Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka appeared to have fallen into a minority with 11 of the MLAs belonging to the two parties quitting the Assembly as the crisis deepened for the ruling dispensation.

On day of high drama, eight of the coalition MLAs went to Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Vajubhai Vala, while three of the Congress MLAs have gone to the residence of the Energy Minister D K Shivkumar, who has mounted efforts to wean away the dissidents and persuade them to withdraw their resignations.