THE B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka collapsed today, with the chief minister resigning on Saturday, minutes before a Supreme Court-ordered trust vote and two days after he was sworn in.
The chief minister announced his decision to resign without facing a trust vote.
The Supreme Court had yesterday ordered a floor test in the Karnataka Assembly at 4 pm today, drastically slashing the 15-day window given by Governor Vajubhai Vala to BJP Chief Minister Yeddyurappa to prove his majority.
“I am going to resign as chief minister….I will go to Raj Bhavan and submit my resignation.
“I will not face confidence vote….I am going to resign,” he told the Assembly after a brief emotional speech.
“People blessed us with 104 seats. The mandate wasn’t for the Congress or the JD(S). The governor invited us to form the government because we are the largest party…Till the last breath of my life, I will work for the people of Karnataka,” he said.
Yeddyurappa said he would now “go to the people”.
Interestingly, the BJP leader also targeted the Congress-JDS post-poll alliance and termed it as “unholy”. “Those who were swearing on the names of each other’s fathers and calling each other names before polls, have now come together to form this unholy alliance,” he said.
His resignation will pave the way for formation of a government led by JD(S) state chief H D Kumaraswamy, who has the backing of the Congress. The newly formed alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221.
Polling for two seats was not held due to various reasons, while Kumaraswamy won from two places.
The Congress won 78 seats and the JD(S) 37. One seat went to JD(S) ally BSP, and the others to a local party and an independent. Voting was held on May 12 in 222 out of the state’s 224 seats.
