Both Yeddyurappa and Congress-backed Kumaraswamy stake claim, ball in Governor’s court now

Both Yeddyurappa and Congress-backed Kumaraswamy stake claim, ball in Governor’s court now

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, May 15, 2015: Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yedyurappa met Karnataka Governor Valubhai Vala and staked claim to forming the government in the state. Yeddyurappa said the BJP should be given the chance to prove majority first as it is the single largest party. The BJP has won 104 seats out of 222, falling short of the halfway mark.

JD(S)’s HD Kumaraswamy, who has been backed by the Congress to be the CM of Karnataka, also met the Governor along with several senior leaders of the Congress. HD Kumaraswamy had written a letter to the Governor, saying he has accepted the support from Congress, and claimed forming the government

The Congress has said that if the Governor does not invite the JDS-Congress combo to form government, they would move the court. The joint tally of the combo is 118, six clear of the halfway mark.The ball is now in the Governor’s court and he can decide which side to invite first.

Reacting to the development, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa accused the Congress of not accepting the mandate and trying to grab power through the back door. Addressing mediapersons earlier, senior Congress leaders, including Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge, claimed that both HD Kumaraswamy and HD Deve Gowda have agreed to the offer. The JDS has also confirmed the development. In the latest development, Siddaramaiah has resigned as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

With trends pouring in from all 222 seats, for which votes were counted in Karnataka Assembly elections, the BJP is currently short of half-way mark with leads on 104 seats. The Congress stands far behind with leads on 78 seats. The third major player – Janata Dal Secular, which was expected to emerge as the kingmaker, stands at the third position with leads on 38 seats. Even as the BJP emerged as the single largest party, sources earlier told Zee News that senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was in talks with the JDS for a possible alliance for government formation in Karnataka. Sources added that the Congress was considering naming HD Kumaraswamy as the chief minister if the alliance was formalised.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah managed to win from Badami seat, but seems certain to lose in Chamundeshwari as he is trailing behind his nearest rival by over 35,000 votes. BJP’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa has won from Shikaripura seat by over 35,000 votes.

Counting of votes for 222 Assembly seats in Karnataka began at 8 am on Tuesday, with both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) exhuming confidence of a victory.

Polling for the 222 seats took place on May 12 as fate of 2,655 candidates was locked in EVMs. Karnataka recorded a record voter turnout of 72.13 per cent – the highest since the 1952 Karnataka Assembly elections.

Karnataka witnessed a high-decibel campaign with big names like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi leading the battle for the BJP and the Congress respectively. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is facing a tough battle to ensure Congress returns to power. Even history is against him as no party has been able to win two consecutive Karnataka Assembly elections since the Janata Dal’s victory in 1983 and 1985. Siddaramaiah on Sunday sounded confident of Congress retaining power and added that this was his last election. He contested from two seats - Chamundeshwari and Badami.

He had also ruled out that Congress was exploring a post-poll alliance with the former prime minister HD Deve Gowda-led JDS. The Congress has been facing a string of electoral routs over the last few years with the only exception being Punjab Assembly elections 2017 and apart a win in Karnataka will come as a shot in the arm for the Grand Old Party.

PM Modi, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa and party national president Amit Shah had claimed that their party would secure a majority on its own in Karnataka Assembly. Yeddyurappa predicted that the BJP would win 130 seats and the Congress would be relegated to a distant second with just 70 while the JDS would bag 25 seats.

Exit polls had predicted a hung Assembly with almost all of them predicting a close contest between the ruling Congress and its main rival the BJP with JDS expected to play the role of a kingmaker if no party manages to secure a majority on its own. At present, the majority mark is 112 as results will be declared for only 222 seats.