BJP’s biggest fall

​Bengaluru: The high-octane drama in Karnataka ended on Saturday after BS Yeddyurappa announced his resignation as Karnataka Chief Minister, minutes before he was supposed to take the floor test in the state assembly with a parting note that he would now “go to the people” and proceeded to submit it to the Governor. 

With his exit, Yeddyurappa’s three-day-old tenure as the chief minister became the shortest the country had ever seen. Yeddyurappa, who bragged on Friday that he would win the trial of strength hands down, could clearly see the writing on the wall on Saturday afternoon and gave up the game, as he realised that he lacked the requisite numbers. 

He quit office but not before doing a ‘Vajpayee’, getting emotional over the turn of events. He said he had failed to secure the magic figure of 112 required to form the government. “If only people had given us 113 seats instead of 104, we would have turned the state into a paradise," the 15-page speech in the assembly said, which focussed mainly on Lingayats’ and farmers of the state. He further said he would work to ensure that the BJP wins all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state and gift them to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 elections.

Breaking down during his speech Yeddyurappa said “When I started the Parivartan Yatra, I received huge support from the people of Karnataka. I have travelled throughout the state for the last two years and have seen people in pain. I can't forget the love and affection I received from the people,” he added. Even as the embers of the fall of the BJP government smouldered, Congress-JDS alliance is all set to take over the reins of Karnataka.

JD (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will be sworn in as the Chief Minister along with a team of 30 ministers on Monday at Kanthirava Stadium at 12 noon. Chief Ministers of the two Telugu states K Chandrasekhar Rao of Telangana and N Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh, former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, former chief minister Mayawati have been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Kumaraswamy thanked the judiciary, Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and other leaders for their support. He said he would also invite Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi to attend the swearing in ceremony.

The Governor, after inviting Kumaraswamy to form the government, gave him 15 days time to prove his majority on the floor of the House. While the activists of Congress and the JD(S) were celebrating the occasion on the streets, the top leadership of both the parties held a meeting at Hotel Hilton to finalise the formula of sharing of power.  It remains to be seen if they would go ahead with the earlier proposal of Congress getting the post of Deputy Chief Minister and 20 ministerial berths or it would be different.

The newly formed alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House which has an effective strength of 221. Speculation is rife in the social media that Karnataka Pradesh Congress president Parmeshwar would be the Deputy Chief Minister.  D K Sivakumar is likely to be the energy minister. H D Revanna is tipped to become the PWD minister. 

However, Congress sources said that the AICC president Rahul Gandhi in consultation with Sonia Gandhi would decide the names of the Congress leaders who would hold office in the government led by Kumaraswamy. Earlier in the day, the swearing-in of 210 MLAs was completed before the assembly adjourned for a small recess. The House reconvened at 3.30 pm. BJP leader Soma Sekhara Reddy, Congress leaders Anand Singh, Prathap Gouda, who were not present in the morning, were sworn in after the House reconvened. 

Soon after the resignation by Yeddyurappa, the Congress demanded the resignation of Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, against whom the Congress-JDS combine had moved the Supreme Court, opposing his decision to invite BJP to form the government in the state.