Karnataka Trust Vote: Will Yediyurappa Get The 104 Votes He Needs To Survive?

Newly sworn in Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is all set to face a trust vote at the Karnataka assembly on Monday. 

The House is going to convene at 11 am and Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar preside over the trust vote proceedings. 

Yediyurappa was confident of a win when he said on Sunday, “100% I will prove my majority.”

He said this even as on Sunday the Speaker disqualified 14 more rebel MLAs under the anti-defection act till the end of the current term of the assembly in 2023.

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

Karnataka Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar on Sunday disqualified 14 more Congress-JD(S) rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law, taking the total tally of disqualified legislators to 17, which will not have any direct impact on the Yediyurappa government’s trust vote on Monday.

The effective strength of the 224-member assembly excluding the Speaker, who has a casting vote in case of a tie, is 207. The BJP requires 104 votes to win. 

The BJP , along with the support of one independent, has 106 members, Congress 66 (including nominated), JD(S) 34 and one BSP member, who has been expelled by the party for not voting for the Kumaraswamy government during the trust vote.

The 14-month-old Congress-JDS coalition governmentheaded by HD Kumaraswamy collapsed on Tuesday after losingthe vote of confidence in the assembly in a climax to the three-week long intense power struggle. 

No JD(S) support to BJP 

Meanwhile, the JD(S), which had tied up with the Congress to form the government that fell, has said that there was no question of them supporting the BJP. 

Party supremo HD Deve Gowda said on Saturday that his party would play the role of a “constructive” opposition.

Gowda made the party position clear a day after a section of JD(S) legislators asked former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to extend support to the BJP government in Karnataka.

After a meeting of JDS MLAs on Friday, party senior leader GT Devegowda had said “Some have suggested that we should sit in opposition, while some legislators are of the opinion that we should support the BJP from outside.”

The BJP government headed by Yediyurappa took office on Friday after the collapse of the Congress-JDS coalition ministry with the defeat of the motion of confidence in the assembly on Tuesday last.

“We are going to play a constructive role. As a regional party we will oppose where we have to oppose. That’s all.

If you (Yediyurappa) do something good for the state, we will welcome it,” Deve Gowda told reporters here.

The JDS patriarch said “There is no big deal in saying so (support to BJP). His (HT Devegowda’s) intention was that the finance bill was passed (before July 31) because it was a budget presented by Kumaraswamy.”

Gowda explained that GT Devegowda intended to say that the JD(S) would not oppose every move of BJP just for the heck of it.

“The pain of losing power within 14 months instead of 60 months (five years) is evident among Congress and the JD(S)leaders. Hence, GT Devegowda expressed his views. What’s the big deal in it? Isn’t it his right to express views?” he said.

(With PTI inputs)