Yeddy Steady, For Now

The BJP and B.S. Yeddyurappa might have emerged victorious from the chaos in the Karnataka assembly, but they still have many battles left

- Prathima Nandakumar

The BJP’s expansion plans for south India got a major boost on July 23, and the party is now expected to form government in Karnataka for the second time in a decade. On that day, the 14-month old Janata Dal (Secular)–Congress coalition in Karnataka collapsed after the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy was defeated. The coalition lost 99 to 105; 20 legislators skipped the trust vote. A spate of resignations by rebel MLAs in the past month had weakened the coalition government and had brought down the strength of the assembly.

In the lead-up to the crucial trust vote, Karnataka witnessed 10 days of high drama, including allegations of horse-trading, Governor Vajubhai Vala’s reminders to conclude the trust vote proceedings, and a spree of petitions before the Supreme Court. All through the house proceedings, the BJP kept a studied silence given the precarious numbers that could upset its calculations. The strategy worked.

While 15 rebel legislators, whose resignations are pending before speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, were absent, two independents chose to keep away, and two Congress legislators—Shrimant Patil and B. Nagendra—skipped the vote citing health reasons. N. Mahesh, the lone Bahujan Samaj Party MLA, was expelled from the party after he disobeyed president Mayawati’s order to vote for the coalition. The house strength was 204 (excluding the speaker), and the magic number was 103. The coalition fell short by four.

This means that, once again, Kumaraswamy’s tenure as chief minister has been curtailed (he had quit after a 20-month tenure in 2007). On the other hand, BJP state president B.S. Yeddyurappa will be sworn in for the fourth time.