B.S. Yediyurappa took oath as the 31st Chief Minister of Karnataka on Friday, three days after the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, and is set to take the floor test on Monday to prove his majority. This is the 76-year-old’s fourth stint at the helm of the State.
Mr. Yediyurappa’s first announcements after assuming office were sops for farmers and weavers. He said an additional sum of ₹4,000 in two instalments would be given to farmers from the State government under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, which will take the total benefit to ₹10,000, including ₹6,000 from the Centre. He also announced, after the Cabinet meeting, waiver of about ₹100 crore loans borrowed by weavers before March 31, 2019. He hinted that he would take a re-look into all the programmes of the previous Kumaraswamy government.
Mr. Yediyurappa was the lone person to be sworn in and is expected to decide on members to be inducted into the Ministry after consulting party president Amit Shah. He is likely to visit the national capital on Saturday.
The BJP is said to be still in the process of finalising the names of MLAs who would be part of the Ministry.
The hurriedly arranged swearing-in ceremony on Friday evening saw the Raj Bhavan overflowing with Mr. Yediyurappa’s supporters and party workers. Hundreds of them had to return without being able to attend the brief ceremony. He took the oath in the name of God, draped in a green shawl, as he had done on the other three occasions.
The cermony was boycotted by the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders who condemned as “unethical and unconstitutional” the “hurry” with which Mr. Yediyurappa was sworn in when his majority in the House was still to be proved.
The BJP has the support of 106 (including one Independent) in the House of 222, after disqualification of three MLAs. The resignations of 13 rebel MLAs from the Congress and JD(S) — which reduced the previous coalition government to a minority — is still pending with the Speaker.
BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) B. L. Santosh and General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka P. Muralidhar Rao represented the party high command at the swearing-in. Veteran leader S.M. Krishna and a large number of party MLAs and MPs attended the ceremony, while the presence of rebel Congress MLA R. Roshan Baig too was striking.
