A day after the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led Janata Dal (S)-Congress government in Karnataka lost the trust vote , the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with its status as the single largest party in the Assembly indicated that it will be proceeding towards staking claim sooner rather than later. A meeting of the State legislature party will be called in a day or two.
The BJP, having postponed a meeting of its legislature party and of the parliamentary board in New Delhi as it sought more clarity about the prospects of providing a stable government after last week’s unsettling events, has decided, sources said, that since much depends on Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar on the question of rebel MLAs, no purpose would be served by allowing the grass to grow.
“We mulled over the matter and while earlier we were treading a little cautiously, we have come to the conclusion that now things will move a little faster in terms of staking claim. Rebel MLAs of the Congress have assured that they will maintain the patience they have shown till now and we have a window of over a month in terms of how to accommodate them,” said a senior general secretary of the party.
He added that the Supreme Court does not figure in the issue as of now as the immunity granted to rebel MLAs only lasted till the trust vote session of the Assembly, that ended on Tuesday.
Other senior party leaders who spoke to The Hindu hewed to the same line, and also said that there was clarity over Mr. Yeddyurappa being the BJP’s choice as Chief Minister and that nobody wanted an Assembly election soon. “The fate of the 15 MLAs is important to ensure the stability of any future government, and that no more blackmailing ensues,” said a senior minister in the Union Cabinet.
BJP chief Amit Shah held consultations on Tuesday and Wednesday with BJP working president Jagat Prasad Nadda, general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh and Union parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi.
The BJP State circles are abuzz with speculation that the high command wants to take Karnataka affairs under its tight control as it did with respect to the Lok Sabha polls. This is in the wake of a series of political controversies and instability that gripped its erstwhile government in Karnataka from 2008 to 2013 that saw three chief ministers.
Meanwhile, the BJP State unit is waiting for signals from the high command on holding the legislature party meeting and formal declaration of B.S.Yeddyurappa as its legislature party leader.
