By Prarthana Mitra
After much deliberation and suspense, the BJP’s B.S. Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka earlier this morning, even as members from the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) sit in protest outside the Vidhan Soudha.
Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that all 118 MLAs who support the Congress-JD(S) alliance are present at the protest.
After Governor Vajubhai Vala invited Yeddyurappa late last evening to form the government, despite the BJP falling short of a majority, the Congress-JD(S) combine appealed to the Supreme Court to halt his swearing in. A three-judge bench of the court comprising, Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A.K. Sikri, conducted an overnight hearing on the matter. Although the bench refused to stay the swearing in, it has posted the matter for hearing again tomorrow (Friday, May 18) to take a final call on the question of government formation.
As far as swearing-in is concerned, we are not restraining it, but we are making it subject to the outcome of the case, the bench said. It has also directed the BJP to produce the letter of support from a majority of MLAs submitted to the governor by Yeddyurappa when it resumes hearing the matter.
Vala has given Yeddyurappa 15 days to prove a majority on the assembly floor. The BJP currently has 104 MLAs to itself while the JD(S)-Congress post-poll alliance has 117 MLAs in a House that requires 113 seats for majority.
Here’s what has happened
After what was expected to be a cakewalk for the BJP turned into a cliffhanger, Vala called the BJP to form the government on Wednesdaya day after Congress formed a hurried post-poll alliance with JD(S), staking a claim to form the government over BJP, the single largest party without an absolute majority.
Over the past 36 hours or so, all three parties approached the governor to allow them a chance to form the government, with the JD(S) submitting the names of all 117 MLAs in their favour. It all boiled down to the governor decide. But, given that the recent political history of India is strewn with instances of allowing both the single largest party, as well as the coalition at times, it was a close call. However, Vala, who served in the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat, upon consultation with former Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi, chose to invite the single largest party first to form the government.
Here’s what will happen next
Rumours of horse-trading were afloat throughout the day as the Congress-JD(S) chief ministerial candidate H.D. Kumaraswamy accused the BJP of offering Rs 100 crore and important cabinet posts to some JD(S) MLAs to switch alliance, a claim dismissed by the BJP. But, the BJP will certainly explore several possibilities to shore up a majority.
According to the Times of India, the BJP can woo Congress and JD(S) MLAs to absent themselves or vote for it, in which they could be disqualified. Or they could also be enticed to resign, thus depressing the majority mark to within stone’s throw of the BJP’s tally.
On the other hand, BJP MP Subramaniam Swamy said that the governor had the plenary power to make an informed decision about the stability of the post-poll alliance, or the lack of it in the long run. He added that the Congress party had clearly lost by a large margin and allowing it to stage a return would be disrespecting the mandate of the people. A governors first duty, said Swamy, is to ensure that the party ruled out by the people are not brought back into power through the back channel.
Meanwhile, Congress leader P. Chidambaram said that the governor is “bound by the Supreme Court judgment, bound to invite leader of alliance which is presented to him as an alliance that commands maturity of members in legislative assembly.”
Congress and JD(S) MLAs in Karnataka are currently lodged in Eagleton and Shangri-la resorts respectively, fearing pressure and offers to switch sides from the ruling party, which is now desperate to prove a majority. How this political drama ultimately unfolds will be revealed in a fortnight.
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius