Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party chief BS Yeddyurappa on Wednesday said that he is awaiting instructions from the central leadership before he stakes claim to form the government in the state, PTI reported.
“I’m awaiting instructions from Delhi,” Yeddyurappa told reporters in Bengaluru. “I can call legislature party meeting any time and go to Raj Bhavan. I’m waiting for it.”
“I have come here to take blessings from elders of Sangh Parivar before taking the next step,” Yeddyurappa said after meeting Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders at its state headquarters.
The coalition of Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) failed to prove its majority in the trust vote conducted in the Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday. The 14-month-old ruling coalition lost the floor test after 99 MLAs voted in favour of it, but 105 legislators voted against it. Soon after, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy met Governor Vajubhai Vala to submit his resignation.
“Party National President Amit Shah has to instruct us to call a legislature party meeting in the presence of an observer to elect the leader,” BJP MLA JC Madhuswamy said. “Things have to go democratically as ours is a national party, so we are waiting for instructions from them, after that appointment with governor will be sought.”
On Tuesday evening, Yeddyurappa called the result of the trust vote a “victory of democracy”. In a letter to BJP National President Amit Shah, he said the party and the people of Karnataka were now a “relieved lot”. He said the party had a testing time in the last few days but all 105 MLAs “stood like a rock”, News9 reported.
Karnataka ended up with a fractured mandate after Assembly elections in May 2018. The BJP was the largest party with 105 seats, but it was eight short of the majority mark of 113. The party still went ahead to stake claim, hoping to get JD(S) MLAs on board before a floor test. Yeddyurappa took oath as chief minister, only to resign two days later before a floor test could take place.
The Congress and the JD(S), which were able to cross the majority mark together, formed a post-poll alliance to form the government, with Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) as chief minister. The ruling coalition had a difficult run for 14 months until a mass resignation of its MLAs this month sealed its fate. After losing the trust vote, the Congress accused the BJP of carrying out “one of the most heinous” instances of horse-trading in the country to make this happen.
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