'Karnataka 2019' is a reflection of an emboldened BJP, and a rudderless opposition

A veteran of many battles, BJP’s BS Yeddyurappa has been sworn in as Karnataka chief minister for the fourth time. The Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) opposition has lost another government, and the state has been thrown into a convoluted constitutional crisis. At the time of writing, the Karnataka Speaker had disqualified three of the 17 MLAs whose resignations have been pending before him. A ‘disqualified’ legislator — as opposed to one who has ‘resigned’ — cannot contest a by-election during the existence of the present assembly. So, the three disqualified MLAs will be debarred re-entry in the present Karnataka assembly — unless their disqualification is undone by the court or the next Speaker.

If BJP forms a government in Bengaluru, it will surely choose its own Speaker. The legal drama is by no means over. Politically, too, a piquant situation has emerged in the state. BJP finally succeeded in bringing down the H D Kumaraswamy government after five unsuccessful attempts. This time, it tried to stay in the background, to give the impression that the coalition government fell under the weight of its own contradictions.

But instead of rushing to Raj Bhavan, Yeddyurappa moved with great caution. BJP seemed to have the numbers in the trust vote — 105 BJP MLAs, and the likely support of one independent, the second one having been disqualified by the Speaker, and one Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator expelled by Mayawati. But this was a majority in a truncated house, with 20 MLAs absent, lowering the halfway mark.

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