The political crisis gripped the 14-month-old fledgling government in Karnataka after 13 Congress and 3 JD-S rebels resigned between July 1 and July 10 in protest against weak leadership and lack of development across the southern state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to stake claim to form the next government in Karnataka after meeting the Governor.
The head of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition, HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister an hour after losing the trust vote in the assembly on the confidence motion he had moved on July 18 to prove majority.
"I hereby tender my resignation as the Chief Minister of Karnataka along with my cabinet and request you to accept the same," Kumaraswamy said in the letter submitted to Governor Vajubhai Vala at the Raj Bhavan.
Accepting the resignation, the Governor asked Kumaraswamy to continue as the caretaker chief minister till alternative arrangements were made.
Kumaraswamy lost the floor test by six votes after a four-day marathon debate on the motion that witnessed heated exchanges and acrimonious scenes in the House.
Stay tuned to this space as we bring to you latest updates from Karnataka
17:00 | "Today, I invited all my senior officers and thanked them. While I honoured them, I gave some suggestions. In future, the same kind of political developments will take place, but instability of the government may continue even after the new government is invited by the governor," says Kumaraswamy
16:30 | "I want to thank the officials who have helped me in last 14 months. The officials worked hard to maintain financial discipline of the state even when there was a threat to government," CM Kumaraswamy says.
13:45 | Karnataka Congress leaders meeting underway in Bengaluru
13:00 | "At any point of time now, we will call for the Legislature Party and then head to the Raj Bhavan," says Yeddyurappa
12:30 | Kumaraswamy, according to an India Today report, has refused to blame coalition partner Congress for the downfall. He said, "It is not right to comment upon these aspect now. The coalition is intact."
12:00 | The Supreme Court has declined to allow state's independent MLAs -- R. Shankar and H. Nagesh -- to withdraw their plea seeking direction to the Assembly Speaker to conduct floor test in the House immediately.
"You have taken a lot of our time on this matter. We will only pass orders in their presence of senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Abhishek Manu Singhvi," said the court.
11:45 | BSP chief Mayawati slams BJP
11:30 | Two Independent Karnataka MLAs seek withdrawal of plea seeking 'forthwith' floor test from SC
Two Karnataka Independent MLAs have urged the Supreme Court to allow them to withdraw their plea seeking its direction to the state assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar to conduct "forthwith" floor test on a trust motion moved by the H D Kumaraswamy government.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose was told by the counsel for the lawmakers R Shankar and and H Nagesh that they wanted to withdraw the petition in view of the recent development.
10:26 | The state BJP will elect its state President BS Yeddyurappa as its legislative party leader.
"All our 105 legislators are meeting later in the day at the party office here to unanimously elect Yeddyurappa as the BJP's legislature party leader and meet state Governor Vajubhai Vala to stake claim to form the new government," party spokesman G Madhusudan told IANS.
The party's state unit will also convey its decision to the BJP's parliamentary board for its consent to allow Yeddyurappa to head the new government as its chief minister.
10:00 | Yeddyurappa may then travel to Delhi to meet BJP chief Amit Shah
10:00 | Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa will meet the Governor to stake claim to form the government in the state
HOW IT ALL HAPPENED
Of the 225-member Assembly, 20 legislators were absent for the floor test, reducing the House strength to 205 with 103 as the halfway mark for simple majority.
"Kumaraswamy moved the motion for trust vote. As per the procedure, voice vote was conducted first, followed by division of voters after opposition BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa pressed for division. I will vote only if there is a tie. To save the dignity of the chair, I will not vote now," the Speaker said in Kannada.
In the division of votes, 99 were for the motion and 105 against it.
Of the 20 legislators who were absent for the floor test, 15 were rebels of the Congress-JD(S) coalition, two Congress members who are in private hospitals in the city and in Mumbai for treatment, two Independents and one Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member.
Soon after the floor test, BSP supremo Mayawati expelled N Mahesh, the party's MLA from Kollegal in Karnataka, for abstaining from voting.
The political crisis gripped the 14-month-old fledgling government in Karnataka after 13 Congress and 3 JD-S rebels resigned between July 1 and July 10 in protest against weak leadership and lack of development across the southern state.
Senior Congress lawmaker and former minister R Ramalinga Reddy, however, withdrew his resignation and voted in favour of the motion.
Though the BJP sought Kumaraswamy's resignation for losing majority in the Assembly after the rebels refused to withdraw their resignations and two Independents, who were ministers in his 34-member cabinet, withdrew their support on July 8, a defiant outgoing Chief Minister moved the confidence motion to prove majority in the hope the rebels will return to the coalition fold.
