Karnataka: Yeddyurappa Stakes Claim To Form Next Govt, Say Oath-Taking After 6PM

BJP Karnataka chief BS Yeddyurappa says he staked claim to form government in the state and the Governor has accepted his request for oath-taking ceremony after 6 pm on Friday.

“Governor Vajubhai Vala has invited me to form govt this evening,” Yeddyurappa said after meeting him. “I will take oath as chief minister between 6-6.15 pm.”

A group of Karnataka BJP leaders had met party president Amit Shah on Thursday as the party weighed its options following the fall of the Congress-JD(S) government in the state.

The state BJP led by former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa was keen to stake claim to form the next government but was waiting for the central leadership’s nod for its next move.

Yeddyurappa’s claim to form government came a day after Karnataka Assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar on Thursday disqualified three rebel Congress MLAs under the anti-defection law .

For the latest news and more, follow HuffPost India on Twitter , Facebook , and subscribe to our newsletter .

Kumar held that the resignation by the three MLAs were “not voluntary and genuiune” and therefore proceeded to disqualify them under the anti-defection law with immediate effect till the end of the term of the current House in 2023.

He said he would decide on both resignations and disqualification pleas pending before him in respect of the 14 other MLAs “in the next couple of days”.

The HD Kumaraswamy government in the state fell on Tuesday after it lost the confidence vote, garnering 99 votes against the 105 by the BJP in the assembly, ending the nearly three-week-long high political drama.

The coalition had needed 103 votes in its favour to win the motion as 20 MLAs Congress-JDS (17), BSP (1), Independents (2) skipped proceedings, reducing the effective strength of the House to 205.

(With PTI inputs)