Karnataka Election Results LIVE: Oppn Throws Its Weight Behind JD(S)-Congress; It's Not Over Yet, Says BJP

Siddaramaiah Accused Modi of Horse-Trading | Outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of encouraging horse-trading to bring the BJP to power in the state. He added that Governor Vajubhai Vala had to invite the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress combine to form a government as it enjoyed the support of 117 MLAs. "The Governor has to give an opportunity to us… Narendra Modi is encouraging horse-trading," he said. Siddaramaiah dismissed reports about dissent among Congress MLAs over supporting the JD(S).

“If you go by the Supreme Court judgment, we have all the rights to form the government and the Governor cannot ignore the judgment. In order to protect the Constitution, the Governor will not allow a political party which does not have the numbers to form the government. That will be unconstitutional,” says Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is addressing the media in Bengaluru. "The Congress Legislature Party has passed a resolution to support the JD(S) leader (HD Kumaraswamy) unanimously. We are seeking the appointment from the Governor to hand over letters — one from the Congress and one from the JD(S). We have not received any message from the Raj Bhawan about any appointment. We are waiting for the same," he says.

The Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) are taking the signatures of their MLAs in support of HD Kumaraswamy and will submit the same to Governor Vajubhai Vala at 4pm today.

Options Before BJP | BJP legislature party has elected BS Yeddyurappa as its leader. As the leader of the single largest party, BSY may formally stake claim to form the government in Karnataka. But from where will the BJP get its numbers considering it is still short by seven out of 222 seats for which elections have been held in the House of 224. These are the three possibilities which BJP could be exploring amidst the current impasse. READ FULL STORY HERE

Mamata Dials Kumaraswamy | West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee has conveyed wishes to JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy over phone. Sources say that leaders of few opposition parties have advised the JD(U)-Congress combine to approach the President in case the Karnataka Governor doesn’t invite them to form the government.

STORY SO FAR | Jockeying for power is on in Karnataka after the fractured verdict in the Assembly polls, with contenders BJP and JD(S)-Congress combine intensifying efforts to outmaneuver each other in the race for forming the government. The newly elected MLAs of the BJP, which emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats in the 224-member House, chose BS Yeddyurappa as their leader. Immediately thereafter, Yeddyurappa made a dash for Raj Bhavan and staked claim to form the government. HD Kumaraswamy, who has emerged the dark horse in the three-horse race with just 37 MLAs, was formally elected the leader of the JD(S) legislature party, and claimed attempts were being made by the BJP to "bribe" its way to power through "horsetrading".

Union minister Prakash Javadekar, who is the BJP’s election observer in Karnataka, has dismissed Kumaraswamy’s charges as “imaginary”. “Congress-JD(S) have come together by unholy means. The BJP does not deal in horse-trading. This is the desperation of the Congress and JD(S). Rs 100 crore and Rs 200 crore figures are imaginary,” says Javadekar.

Sources say the Congress is ready to approach the Supreme Court today itself if the Governor doesn’t invite the alliance to form government.

Amid allegations of horse-trading, Congress MLA TD Rajegowda says, “They (BJP) keep on calling, but we don't bother about it. I have clearly asked them not to call me. I am a committed Congress person. They have been doing this from long time. This is their job.”

RECAP | BJP's chief ministerial face BS Yeddyurappa has staked claim to form the new government in Karnataka. "We have staked claim to form the government as the single largest party with 104 newly elected legislators," Yeddyurappa told reporters after meeting Governor Vajubhai Vala at Raj Bhavan. Earlier in the day, the new Bharatiya Janata Party lawmakers unanimously elected Yeddyurappa as their legislative party leader. "I have requested the Governor to allow me to take oath as the Chief Minister at the earliest and the Governor said he would take an appropriate decision soon," Yeddyurappa said.

HD Kumaraswamy is scheduled to meet Governor Vajubhai Vala at the Raj Bhawan in Bengaluru at 1:30pm. He was earlier in the day elected as the JD(S) Legislature Party leader and is likely to present the letter of support from JD(S) and Congress MLAs to the Governor. Kumaraswamy has accused the BJP offering Rs 100 crore each and cabinet posts to lure some of his MLAs.

Karnataka's Close Shave, Four Seats With Vote Margin Under 700 | The closely contested Karnataka Election had four seats with a vote margin of less than 700. Pratapgouda Patil of the Indian National Congress won with just 213 votes in the constituency of Maski. The difference went down to 409 in Pavagada where Venkataramanappa of the Indian National Congress emerged winner. Even after putting a brilliant show in the Karnataka elections, the BJP hasn’t yet managed to beat the vote share of the Congress. This also shows the strategic strength is the BJP poll machinery which manages to get more seats even with a lower vote share. As per the data released by the Election Commission of India, Congress party led in terms of vote share in Karnataka with 37.9 percent of the votes to its name. The BJP, on the other hand, had got 36.2 percent of the votes. READ FULL STORY HERE

When asked whether Union minister Prakash Javadekar, the BJP’s election observer in Karnataka, has approached him, Kumaraswamy says, "Who is Javadekar? Who is that gentleman?”

Amid the talk of changing political dynamics in Karnataka, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy says he has not sought chief ministership from anyone and it’s the Congress who offered me unconditional support. Reacting to reports that the Deve Gowda-led party will take its MLAs to a resort to thwart poaching attempts, Kumaraswamy says, “It’s not necessary to take MLAs to a resort right now, but if the BJP starts horse-trading, I will have to take steps to protect them.”

HD Kumaraswamy says it is the Governor’s prerogative to invite the BJP first, but refuses to reveal what the JD(S) course of action in that will be. "Why should I reveal my plan B now?"

HD Kumaraswamy warns the BJP over Operation Kamal. “I warn the BJP if they try Operation Kamal again, it will boomerang against them. We have the power to poach twice the number of BJP MLAs… I request the Governor to follow the precedence of Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya.” In 2008, BJP emerged as the single largest party in the state elections.But it could again not go past the halfway mark. What followed after that was an infamous political manoeuvre known as ‘Operation Kamal’. The BJP allegedly engineered the defection of 4 JD(S) and 3 Congress MLAs and successfully staked claim to form government in the state. Those who defected from their parties were allegedly promised huge rewards, re-elections and important posts in government bodies. BJP continued to work in this direction and went on to claim support of 121 MLAs in the 224- seat House.

Asked about BS Yeddyurappa’s declaration that will take oath as Karnataka CM tomorrow, HD Kumaraswamy asks his rival to check “if he even has majority”. 

HD Kumaraswamy says his father and party president Deve Gowda regretted becoming the PM with BJP support in 1998. “I have offers from both sides. There's nothing to hide. But I am trying to make up for what I did to my father in the past that hurt him... After UP elections, I had made a statement that only JD(S) can stop BJP’s storm in India,” he says.

HD Kumaraswamy accused the BJP of offering Rs 100 crore to some JD(S) MLAs to switch sides. “If somebody here has forgotten about Operation Kamal, let me remind about that. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been talking about removing black money. The same BJP says will give Rs 100 crore and Cabinet post today to some of my MLAs. Will this Rs 100 crore be black or white? They have money to give MLAs, but what about the Rs 15 lakh promised by the PM.” In 2008, BJP emerged as the single largest party in the state elections.But it could again not go past the halfway mark. What followed after that was an infamous political manoeuvre known as ‘Operation Kamal’. The BJP allegedly engineered the defection of 4 JD(S) and 3 Congress MLAs and successfully staked claim to form government in the state. Those who defected from their parties were allegedly promised huge rewards, re-elections and important posts in government bodies. BJP continued to work in this direction and went on to claim support of 121 MLAs in the 224- seat House.

HD Kumaraswamy refers to Goa and Manipur where the Congress couldn’t form the government despite being the single-largest party in these states. “The BJP is trying to use central powers,” he says.

Taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he says the PM should not have said the BJP will rule Karnataka even without the numbers. “The BJP wanted to finish the JD(S). I thank the Congress for supporting us. The decision to become CM is not thirst for power. People are wrong if they think this,” says Kumaraswamy.

HD Kumaraswamy has been elected the House leader in JD(S) Legislature Party meeting. He begins the press briefing by thanking party workers for the electoral performance. “This result is not something that gave us too much happiness. Somewhere in my heart, I feel I should accept people's verdict. We can’t blame the people of Karnataka for the Hung Assembly. The 104 seats that the BJP got is not for their work. They got it due to division of secular votes,” he says.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will address a press conference shortly after holding the legislature party meeting. If the Congress-JD(S) alliance is invited to form the government, the latter’s state chief HD Kumaraswamy will return as Karnataka CM. On Tuesday, soon after the Congress declared its support to the JD(S), Kumaraswamy wrote to the Governor informing him that he had accepted the offer to be the chief minister. "All India Congress party leaders after discussion have given a letter to our party president extending support .... on behalf our party, along with Congress leaders we have asked Governor seeking an opportunity to form the government with the support of Congress, also two independent MLAs," Kumaraswamy, the alliance's chief ministerial candidate, said.

Author Chetan Bhagat sees horse-trading as an "art form".

In a hung parliament there’s no ethical way out. So let’s stop moralizing either side please as it is a pointless exercise. Even horse trading is an art form. another test for both BJP and Cong. Let’s see who’s better at it.

— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) May 16, 2018

UPDATE | BS Yeddyurappa has met Governor Vajubhai Vala and submitted the papers of his election as BJP’s Legislature Party leader. While leaving the Raj Bhavan, he addressed reporters with senior party leaders and said the Governor has promised to take “appropriate” decision. “The party has chosen me. I have given the letter to the Governor and he will call me. That is what I am hoping. He told me that he will take an appropriate decision. I'll inform you after I receive a letter from the Governor,” he says.

Former law minister Ram Jethmalani says it common sense to call the party that has declared majority. “It is common sense that the Governor call the party that has declared majority if they are together and have announced they have a right to be called… Do they (BJP) want to form the government and be defeated the next day? How can anyone decide whether the union is for real or not, but if it's announced, their word should be taken.”

Shantinagar MLA and Congress leader NA Harris says the BJP is doing bad politics. “We have to protect the verdict of the people. They (BJP) are doing bad politics. We don't have to stoop down to their level. We (Congress and JD-S) are 118 in number. We don't want anyone. Nobody has called me to the resort,” he says.

Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru says no official communication has been sent to any party or coalition on government formation in Karnataka.

Karnataka Election Results | Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil has expressed surprise over the Karnataka election results where the BJP emerged as the single largest party, and demanded the use of paper ballots in future elections instead of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). He claimed the 'wave' of BJP's popularity was now receding and therefore, the NCP and the Congress were working towards forging alliance in future polls.