Karnataka: BSY trust vote hinges on HC's Monday verdict

BANGALORE: With the Karnataka high court ruling it will decide the plea by five independent MLAs against their disqualification on October 18, the fate of the B S Yeddyurappa government will remain uncertain until then despite Thursday's trust vote, which it's expected to win since the HC has also disallowed the rebel MLAs from voting.

The numbers favour Yeddyurappa: 108 vs 100 excluding the Speaker. But with Karnataka chief justice J S Khehar also ruling that "the proceedings of the Karnataka assembly on October 14 are subject to the result of the main writ petition", in which 16 dissident MLAs have questioned their disqualification, a third trust vote in case the judgment favours the rebels, may become a necessity. If the dissidents stick to their stand, the first saffron government in south India will again be reduced to a minority.

Speaker K G Bopaiah has said the trust vote would be by a division rather than by voice vote. Only MLAs will be allowed inside the House.

Reporters will be allowed into the visitors' gallery and the trust vote will be broadcast live. While Yeddyurappa and the BJP legislators returned to Bangalore from Delhi on Tuesday night, the BJP central leadership went into overdrive to save the Yeddyurappa government. BJP leader L K Advani met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P Chidambaram, while Arun Jaitley demanded the recall of governor H R Bhardwaj, accusing him of partisan behaviour. Jaitley also alleged that the Raj Bhavan was the epicentre of horse-trading.

The perception that the governor had overstepped his brief and handed the political advantage to the BJP strengthened with saffron circles exuding confidence about winning the trust vote comfortably. The BJP has managed to get a JD(S) legislator and an independent on its side while losing one MLA to the JD(S).

The JD(S) is furious at the turn of events. Its leader H D Kumaraswamy - the prime cause of the current imbroglio - has called Thursday's trust vote invalid.

The Karnataka Congress feels betrayed by the high command. It had been a partner in the toppling game and obviously had the Central leadership's blessings initially. The Congress government in Goa had helped out when the dissident MLAs were holed up in that state. The last-minute change in the stance of the Central leadership, which would rather see the Yeddyurappa government fall on its own, has caught the state unit on the wrong foot.
Courtesy : The Times Of India, Oct 14,2010