BS Yediyurappa won a crucial trust vote in Karnataka on 29 July, ensuring some political stability for the next six months as under the Constitution no political party in the state can move a no-confidence motion against the incumbent administration before then, according to media reports.
Once the result was declared, Karnataka State Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar resigned before a no-confidence motion could be brought against him.
The assembly also passed a Vote on Account Finance Bill. This is a grant that enables the government to fund its expenses for a short period of time (in this case for a period of three months) and a supplementary budget.
A section of social media welcomed the result of the trust vote, congratulating Chief Minister Yediyurappa on his victory.
— Manjunath (@341manju) July 29, 2019
— Ankit bhadauriya (@Ankitbhadauria8) July 29, 2019
Others blamed the Congress party for the collapse of the previous H D Kumaraswamy led- JDS-Congress coalition government.
— R.K.NAIR (@rknair337) July 29, 2019
— Raghupathy M (@MRaghu1312) July 29, 2019
The political crisis in Karnataka erupted earlier this month after 17 lawmakers of the then Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) government tendered their resignations to the Speaker.
The mass resignation reduced the 14-month-old government of Chief Minister Kumaraswamy to a minority, leading to its collapse.
Allegedly, many rebel lawmakers were convinced to resign by then opposition BJP leaders on the assurance they would not be disqualified under the Indian Constitution’s Anti-Defection Law. But on Sunday (28 July), Speaker Kumar disqualified them, saying his decision was based on his “judicial conscience”.
Last week, the BJP staked a claim to form the next government in Karnataka after the ruling Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government failed to win a trust vote.
State Governor Vajubhai Vala accepted the BJP's claim to form a government and on Friday (26 July) B S Yediyurappa was appointed chief minister with the rider that he win the trust vote on Monday to remain in office.
In a related development, two of the 17 disqualified Congress party state lawmakers, Ramesh Jarkhiholi and Mahesh Kumathalli, filed separate petitions in the Supreme Court of India on Monday challenging their disqualification. In their petitions, both said outgoing Speaker Kumar’s decision was “wholly illegal, arbitrary and malafide."
The Karnataka State Assembly’s current strength is 208, having dropped from its normal 225. Of the 208, the BJP has 105 members and the support of Independent lawmaker H Nagesh.
After the trust vote win, Chief Minister Yediyurappa said there is no room for “vendetta politics” and he would ensure smooth governance for the remaining three years and ten months of the present assembly.
He said bringing the state back on track after months of political instability would be a priority.
