The Karnataka political drama seems to have come to an end, at least for now, after Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa won the floor test on Monday, 29 July, through a voice vote. This comes less than a week after the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government collapsed.
Soon after the conducting the floor test on Monday, Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar also submitted his resignation.
The crisis in the state was sparked by resignations of MLAs from the Congress and JD(S), which put the coalition in minority. After many delays, then CM HD Kumaraswamy finally lost the trust vote on 23 July, three days after which Yediyurappa took oath as the chief minister on 26 July.
But Still More to Come?
However, there still might be more to come in the days ahead, with three rebel MLAs – R Shankar, Ramesh Jarkiholi and Mahesh Kumathalli – having moved the Supreme Court challenging the Speaker's decision to disqualify them for the term of the present Assembly.
A total 17 rebel MLAs, including 14 on the eve of the trust vote, were disqualified by the Speaker till the end of the current term of the House in 2023, which brought down the majority mark in the Assembly to 105, equivalent of the current strength of the BJP.
The Supreme Court's decision with regard to these disqualifications may lead to fresh tensions in the state that has been clouded by uncertainty for almost a month now.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)