Bengaluru: Janata Dal Secular leader HD Kumaraswamy said he will take oath as the chief minister of Karnataka, hours after the BJP's BS Yeddyurappa resigned from the top post without facing a floor test. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walked away from a Supreme Court-ordered floor test to prove it had the support of a majority of legislators to govern Karnataka, after an election a week ago threw up no clear winner. The move could now allow an alliance of the main opposition Congress and the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) to form the government in the southern state. Karnataka Chief Minister
BS Yeddyurappa resigned after a long, emotional speech in the assembly. After ending the speech and announcing his resignation, he walked out of the assembly.
Newly elected MLAs had been due to vote in the assembly on the orders of the Supreme Court, which intervened after the opposition had protested against a decision of the Karnataka governor to
invite the BJP to form a government in Karnataka. His resignation would pave the way for an alliance of the JDS-Congress. "Democracy has finally won the battle against the unholy politics of intimidation, corruption and lies," the Congress tweeted. "Congratulations Karnataka!"
Though the BJP won 104 seats in the Karnataka election, it
was eight short of the majority mark of 111 after one of its legislators was picked as the speaker for today. The Congress and the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) of HD Deve Gowda had taken their legislators out of Karnataka to prevent them from
being poached by the BJP. The Supreme Court also rejected the Congress's petition against making KG Bopaiah the pro tem speaker. "Live broadcast of floor test would be the best way to ensure transparency of proceedings," the court had said.
Here are the highlights of the Karnataka government formation:
May 19, 2018 22:43 (IST)
Danish Ali of the JDS says HD Kumaraswamy will take oath as Chief Minister on Wednesday, May 23 at around 12:30 pm.
May 19, 2018 22:13 (IST)
JDS leader Danish Ali says HD Kumaraswamy's oath taking ceremony will not take place on Monday as it is the death anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
May 19, 2018 19:51 (IST)
Mr Kumaraswmy says he has invited Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati and Chandrababu Naidu for the oath taking ceremony on Monday.
May 19, 2018 19:46 (IST)
JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy stakes claim to form government in Karnataka, says swearing in on Monday
May 19, 2018 19:18 (IST)
HD Kumaraswamy reaches Raj Bhavan.
May 19, 2018 18:54 (IST)
HD Kumaraswamy to meet Governor Vajubhai Vala at 7:30 pm.
May 19, 2018 18:36 (IST)
"In the end, India's voice and democratic spirit will always triumph over tyranny. Satyamev Jayate," tweets Rahul Gandhi
May 19, 2018 18:25 (IST)
"It's a victory of secular democratic forces. The BJP never had the numbers, but the governor invited them to form government. The party was given time for horse-trading. Karnataka showed that the BJP's downslide has started," CPI leader D Raja told news agency PTI.
May 19, 2018 18:16 (IST)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the BJP's attempts to "subvert democracy" has "miserably failed" in Karnataka. Mr Kejriwal's comment came after BS Yeddyurappa resigned as Karnataka chief minister before facing a crucial trust vote in the assembly. "BJP's attempts to subvert democracy have miserably failed in Karnataka. BJP's lust for power through foul means stands completely exposed. Will BJP learn any lesson now?" Mr Kejriwal said in a tweet.
May 19, 2018 18:05 (IST)
"I just spoke with Kumaraswamy Ji and congratulated him. He invited me for the oath taking ceremony on Monday," West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.
May 19, 2018 17:03 (IST)
"The basic idea behind RSS is to capture every institution of the country. Everyone is feeling it. The press is feeling it... Even Mr Narendra Modi's MPs are feeling it," Rahul Gandhi said.
May 19, 2018 17:01 (IST)
"You've seen openly how the PM directly authorised purchasing of MLAs in Karnataka, so the idea that PM spreads in the country that he is fighting corruption, is a blatant lie, he is corruption," Rahul Gandhi said.