We will 100 per cent form the government in Karnataka, said BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje
Highlights
- 100 per cent sure will form the government: Shobha Karandlaje
- HD Kumaraswamy to prove majority in the assembly today
- Congress's G Parameshwara, a Dalit leader, made deputy chief minister
Short of numbers, BS Yeddyurappa may have quit as Karnataka Chief Minister two days after he was sworn in but the BJP it seems hasn't given up hope of forming the government.
"We are 100 per cent sure we will be able to form the government," said Shobha Karandlaje, a BJP parliamentarian from the state and an aide of Mr Yeddyurappa.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who took oath on Wednesday, is set to prove his majority in the assembly on Friday, after which he will expand his cabinet.
State Congress chief G Parameshwara, a Dalit leader, has been made deputy chief minister, leading to the buzz that another senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar, a contender for the post, was reportedly upset.
"After the cabinet expansion, the chief minister and his deputy will face the heat of their parties. We are expecting many Congress MLAs (lawmakers) to rebel because they are unhappy about the deputy chief minister and they are also very unhappy about the unholy alliance with the JDS," claimed Ms Karandlaje.
Before Mr Kumaraswamy goes for the trust vote, the Speaker will have to be elected. The Congress-JDS alliance that claims the support of 117 lawmakers, well past the majority mark, has named Ramesh Kumar as its candidate.
The BJP that emerged the single largest party with 104 seats has put up former law minister Suresh Kumar. The idea seems to be to force a trial of strength ahead of the floor test.
Our lawmakers are not for sale, said Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara
While the Congress has kept its lawmakers at a hotel, JD(S) legislators have been put up at resort. Both the parties have accused the BJP of trying to
poach their lawmakers to try and form the government.
Mr Parameshwara said he was confident that the government would win the trust vote as "our MLAs are intact".
"Reports and talks that some MLAs will cross the floor are not true. Our MLAs are definitely not for sale. We are going to prove that we have the majority and we can run the government," asserted the Congress leader.
He also dismissed reports of a rift within the Congress. "There is absolutely no kind of difference within our party".
Mr Yeddyurappa had told NDTV yesterday that that the JDS-Congress government would not last
"even three months".