The new Karnataka government led by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy will face a trust vote to prove its majority in the Assembly on Friday. The election of the Speaker will precede the floor test. The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded senior leader S Suresh Kumar for the post while the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition has named Ramesh Kumar, who has held the post before.
The election for the position is expected to take place at 12.15 pm on Friday.
Kumaraswamy was sworn in as the chief minister on Thursday while Congress leader G Parameshwara took oath as his deputy. Kumaraswamy’s Janata Dal (Secular), which won 37 out of the 222 Assembly seats that went to the polls on May 12, has partnered with the Congress that has 78 seats, to form the government.
Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara appealed to the BJP on Thursday to not contest the post and allow Ramesh Kumar to become the Speaker, the Hindustan Times reported. “The post of Speaker is above politics as the person so selected has to rise above party politics while holding the chair,” he said. “In this light, considering [Ramesh] Kumar’s previous experience in the post and his seniority, I appeal to the opposition to not contest the post.”
BJP still hopeful
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Shobha Karandlaje is still hopeful that her party will form the government again and MLAs of the Congress and JD(S) would rebel. “We are 100% sure we will be able to form the government,” she told NDTV. “After the Cabinet expansion, the chief minister and his deputy will face the heat of their parties. We are expecting many Congress MLAs to rebel because they are unhappy about the deputy chief minister and they are also very unhappy about the unholy alliance with the JD(S).”
Legislators of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) are still in resorts in Bengaluru, NDTV reported. They have been away from their homes ever since they were elected, as their parties feared the BJP would lure them to change loyalty.
The BJP had won 104 seats in the elections, and was invited first to form the government though the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) post-poll alliance had a clear majority. The alliance moved the Supreme Court against Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision to invite the BJP. The top court gave BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa a day to prove his majority in the Assembly, but he resigned as chief minister without facing the trust vote.
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