Congress trying to grab power even after facing rejection: Yeddyurappa

NEW DELHI: BJP's chief minister candidate BS Yeddyurappa slammed the Congress on Tuesday for trying to grab power after being rejected by the people of Karnataka.



"The people have rejected the Congress and accepted BJP. People are moving towards 'Congress-mukt Karnataka'. Now they're trying to grab power despite facing rejection," he said at a press conference.

As Karnataka appeared headed for a hung Assembly with the BJP set to emerge as the single largest party but falling short of a majority, the Congress sprang a surprise, declaring it will back the also-ran JD(S) in forming the government.

Yeddyurappa disparaged this move by the Congress as "back-door politics" and accused the party of disprespecting the mandate of the people, which was in the BJP's favour.



"Congress is trying to subvert the mandate through dubious means. This kind of back-door politics by the Congress should be condemned," he said.

Though the BJP initially looked set to sail through and win a simple majority in the 224-member assembly, as the day progressed and more trends and results started pouring in, an outright victory seemed improbable. In the midst of this, the Congress quickly announced its decision to back the JD(S), which was readily accepted by party patriarch HD Deve Gowda and his son HD Kumaraswamy.

"They [JD(S)] have accepted the offer... We will meet the Governor and stake claim for government formation... Our numbers put together will be more than the BJP's," senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said earlier.

Caught off-guard, Yeddyurappa said the state unit will decide on the next course of action after consulting with the BJP's central leadership.

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However, the newly minted Congress-JD(S) alliance gave no room to the BJP to stage a recovery. Outgoing chief minister Siddaramaiah rushed to Governor Vajubhai Vala's residence and tendered his resignation. Kumaraswamy shot off a letter to the Governor informing him of the JD(S)'s acceptance of Congress support for government formation. The clamour to crown Kumaraswamy as the next CM also grew within the JD(S).



The Congress has won 28 of the 222 seats polling for which was held, while it is leading in 49 others. The JD(S) has won seven constitutiencies and its candidates are ahead of their rivals in 31. If the number seats the two parties have won and where they are leading is taken into account, they could together end up with 115 seats, three more than the magic figure of 112.



The BJP, on the other hand, has won 57 seats and is leading in 47, a total of 104.