After a day of dramatic twists and turns, JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy met governor Vajubhai Vala and staked claim to form the government.
After the meeting, Kumaraswamy said, “Governor has invited us to form government”. Kumaraswamy said he will take oath as chief minister on May 21.
Kumaraswamy added that he has invited all regional leaders for oath ceremony, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
Earlier in the day, BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa resigned after just about 55 hours as the Karnataka chief minister ahead of a Supreme Court-mandated trust vote in the assembly. It capped five days of political drama that saw elections results throwing up a hung house, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats. The Congress got 78 seats and the JD(S), 37. Political parties accusing each other of horse-trading and lawmakers hiding in hotels.
“Till my last breath, I’ll fight for the farmers. I’ll give my life for people,” Yeddyurappa said in the Karnataka assembly.
There was high drama before Yeddyurappa's speech as two 'missing' Congress MLAS—Anand Singh and Pratap Gowda Patil—arrived at the assembly, nearly three days after they 'left' the group of Congress legislators.
The Congress alleged the duo were being forcibly confined by the BJP at the Goldfinch Hotel in Bengaluru. Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar declared that both Patil and Singh would side with the party and the duo were seen with Congress MLAs.