BS Yeddyurappa resigns as Chief Minister of Karnataka just before floor test

Bengaluru: BS Yeddyurappa resigned just 55 hours after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. He has declared his resignation before the trust vote in the Karnataka Assembly. According to sources BS Yeddyurappa has been told to resign before the floor test if he feels he does not have the majority to win. As per sources, he has prepared a 13-page speech which he will deliver ahead of the trust vote. The BJP government led by Yeddyurappa is facing a crucial trust vote on Saturday in the Karnataka Assembly.

The Assembly session began on Saturday with legislators of the BJP, Congress and JD-S taking the oath. Chief Minister Yeddyurappa was the first to take oath followed by Congress legislature party leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) legislature party leader HD Kumaraswamy.

Yeddyurappa requires the 112-halfway mark to win the motion or one more than the half of the members present when the floor test is conducted in the House with an effective strength of 222. Of the 222 seats, the BJP won 104, Congress 78, JD-S, 37 and one each by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) and an Independent. As the single largest party, the BJP is eight short of the 112-halfway mark in the House.

As Kumaraswamy won from both Channapatna and Ramanagaram segments, the party’s effective strength in the House is 36 as he can cast only once.

Though the Governor directed Yeddyurappa to seek a vote of confidence on the floor of the House within 15 days from the date of assumption of office as the Chief Minister, a three-judge bench of the top court ordered the floor test on Saturday, rejecting his plea for a week`s time to prove his majority.