Bangalore, New Delhi:
The wheel of political fortune may swing around to rescue Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa from the corner he was forced into after 16 MLAs withdrew support to his government last week.
Yeddyurappa has agreed to prove - for the second time this week - his majority in the Karnataka Assembly on Thursday. That's what Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj offered him earlier in the day, describing the second chance as an act of charity and kindness. (
Read: Governor to Yeddyurappa: Show majority on Oct 14)
It was hardly, however, a sweet deal till later in the afternoon, when the Karnataka High Court said that it would rule on Monday on whether the 16 MLAs who have revolted against Yeddyurappa were correctly disqualified on Monday by the Speaker of the Assembly, KG Bopaiah. (
Read: High Court adjourns hearing on BJP MLAs disqualification petition)
For Thursday's crucial vote, that means, the numbers are in Yeddyurappa's favour. The Karnataka Assembly's total strength is 224. Without the 16 MLAs, it falls to 208. Yeddyurappa has to get 105 votes to prove he's not in a minority. That's exactly how many MLAs the BJP now has in the House . "I am confident of winning the vote of confidence on 14th," the chief minister said after a meeting of top BJP leaders at LK Advani's house in Delhi.
How the Karnataka numbers stack up:Yeddyurappa survived a trust vote on Monday, amid total chaos. At a press conference on Tueday, Bhardwaj, in an unprecedented move, described that vote as "a farce" and ordered another one. A seething BJP responded that Bhardwaj was clearly partisan, and demanded that he be recalled. "He used Raj Bhavan to be used to destabilise the government and encourage horse-trading. He has completely lost his impartiality and cannot be the custodian of the Constitution," said the party's Arun Jaitley.
Bhardwaj has undoubtedly u-turned from his stand on Monday, where he wrote to the Centre, recommending President's Rule for Karnataka, a move, sources say, that did not please the Congress leadership in Delhi. Bhardwaj had acted in haste, it was felt, and he might inadvertently have given the BJP injured party rights. (
Watch: BJP vs Governor Over Karnataka Crisis)
The political narrative in Karnataka raced into one of its most dramatic episodes yesterday morning when the Speaker said the 16 MLAs ditching Yeddyurappa stood disqualified under anti-defection laws. Five of those MLAs tried to force their way into the Vidhan Soudha for the trust vote. There was shouting inside the House, one MLA ripped open his shirt, another attacked a security guard. (
Read: Speaker disqualifies 16 rebel MLAs) A voice vote apparently gave Yeddyurappa his new lease of life.
Bhardwaj said there was no clear mention of the number of votes cast in favour and against the motion of confidence moved by the Chief Minister. "The Speaker simply said that the motion was carried by a voice vote," he said, adding there cannot be a voice vote in such a crucial matter.
Underscoring his disapproval, the Governor, in his letter to Yeddyurappra on Tuesday, asked him to "demonstratively and constitutionally" prove his majority on the floor of the House.