Karnataka: CM Yeddyurappa waives farm loans of up to Rs 100,000; updates

In a joint petition in Supreme Court, the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) had sought a stay on the oath-taking taking ceremony of BJP's chief ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader B S Yeddyurappa took oath as the 23rd chief minister of Karnataka on Thursday after the Supreme Court, in a post-midnight hearing, decided not to put a stay on the swearing-in.

Top BJP leaders, including Union Ministers JP Nadda, Dharmendra Pradhan and Prakash Javadekar were present at Raj Bhavan in Karnataka during the swearing-in ceremony.

Earlier, while hearing a plea filed by Congress, the Supreme Court refused to stall the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa. The court, however, made it clear that the swearing-in and the government formation would be subject to the final outcome of the case before it.

The top court sought the letters which Yeddyurappa had written to Karnataka Governor informing him his election as BJP legislature party and posted the matter for further hearing at 10.30 am on Friday.

In a midnight legal push, the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) had approached the Supreme Court seeking an immediate intervention by the chief justice to stay the move, which it termed as an “encounter of the Constitution”.

The Congress urged Chief Justice Dipak Misra to hold an urgent hearing on Wednesday night itself since Yeddyurappa is slated to take oath as chief minister at 9 am on Thursday.

In a joint petition, the two parties had sought a stay on the oath-taking taking ceremony of BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa.

The Governor on Wednesday invited Yeddyurappa to form the government, as the saffron party has emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats. Along with one independent MLA, the Bharatiya Janata Party has staked the claim at forming the government.

However, they are still short of the halfway mark of 112 by seven MLAs.

Whereas Congress-JD(S) alliance has 115 MLAs, just above the halfway mark.

“BJP has 104 seats, how will they prove majority on floor, even if they get some independent MLAs? Only way out is to bring Congress and JD(S) MLAs with them, either by using muscle power or buying MLAs. We have filed a petition urging Governor to give us a chance,” Javed, lawyer of the JD(S) and Congress.

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Karnataka Election Results 2018 : Hung house in Karnataka; Congress, BJP spar over poaching rumours: Updates

After results to the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 threw up a hung Assembly on Tuesday, both BJP and Congress-JD(S) combine are targetting each other with allegations of poaching of legislators

A day after the Karnataka election results 2018 threw up a fractured mandate, some members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were reported to be claiming that they were in touch with several of elected members of legislative Assembly (MLAs) from the Congress and the JD(S), and that the BJP would definitely form the next government in the state.

The BJP, apparently, is in talks with at least seven of the 10 Lingayat legislators of the Congress who are unhappy with the party for dividing the Lingayat community votes and are unwilling to accept Kumaraswamy, a Vokkaliga, as their chief minister. Sources in the BJP told Business Standard that the party was also in touch with about half a dozen JD(S) MLAs who might be willing to abstain from voting at the time of the floor test.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Karnataka chief minister, Siddaramaiah, rejected the reports of dissension among Congress MLAs and called them "just baseless rumours”.Counter-claims of the Congress being in talks with some BJP MLAs were also doing the rounds. Sources in the Congress claimed that some BJP legislators had contacted the Congress high-command, saying they would not vote against the Congress-JD(S) coalition if it gets a chance to prove its majority on the floor of the House.

Congress leader D K Shivakumar, while talking to news agency ANI, said that the party had a plan and that they were facing a lot of pressure with the BJP trying to poach Congress MLAs.

In the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 results, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, with 104 seats, but it fell short of the halfway mark of 112 in the 224-seat state Assembly by 9 seats. Congress ended up as the second-biggest with 78 seats, and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) stood third with 38 seats. The Congress and the JD(S) decided to come together to form a coalition government.

At present, the ball is in the court of Governor Vajubhai Vala, who will decide which side would be invited to form the next government. According to an NDTV report, both sides would meet the governor again on Wednesday to make their case stronger.

Karnataka Assembly election 2018 saw a record 72.36 per cent of the 50.7 million (5.07 crore) voters exercising their right to franchise. Of them, 27,908 electors in defence services voted through postal ballots. The Election Commission had deployed 16,662 personnel for counting of votes amid tight security.

Four of the seven polling agencies had predicted in their exit polls that the BJP would emerge as the single-largest party. While most exit polls predicted a hung Assembly with the BJP ahead, two had said the BJP would either come very close to or cross the halfway mark of 112 seats. The India Today-Axis exit poll had said the Congress might bag a majority. All exit polls had given the H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) nearly two dozen seats or more. The JD(S), however, beat that projection by bagging 37 seats.

Here are the top 10 developments → Karnataka Assembly election 2018 results

Karnataka Election results LIVE updates: Siddaramaiah's lingayat card fails

Karnataka election result 2018 LIVE updates: With Narendra Modi wave still riding high, trends show BJP snatching another state from Congress

Karnataka Legislative Assembly Election 2018 – The high-stakes battle for the 222-seat Karnataka Assembly ended on Saturday and India will soon know the outcome. The counting of votes is underway, and according to the procedure, postal ballots were counted first. Initial trends hint that Karnataka is headed for a hung Assembly. “All arrangements have been made for counting of votes in 222 seats from 8 am onwards at 38 centres in 30 districts, including five in Bengaluru where polling was held in 26 of the 28 segments,” Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar said.

A record 72.36 per cent of the 50.7 million electors cast their votes, with 27,908 in defence services exercising their franchise through postal ballots. The Election Commission has deployed 16,662 personnel for counting of votes amid tight security. “Postal ballots will be counted first before the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are opened,” Kumar said.

Karnataka election has been billed as the biggest political battle of 2018. The Bharatiya Janata Party ‘s(BJP’s) bid to reclaim the state has faced its toughest challenge from one man – chief minister Siddaramaiah, who looks to beat incumbency. Who will Karnataka pick? The voters have decided and the entire nation will know the Karnataka election 2018 result today.

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Meanwhile, four of the seven polling agencies predicted in their exit polls that the BJP would emerge the single-largest party today. While most exit polls predicted a hung Assembly with the BJP ahead, two said the BJP would either come very close to or cross the halfway mark of 112 seats, while the India Today-Axis exit poll said the Congress might bag a majority. All exit polls gave the H D Deve Gowda led Janata Dal (Secular) nearly two dozen seats or more, which could make it the kingmaker in case of a hung Assembly.

A win for the Congress would boost the party’s morale for the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram in November-December, and for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It would also ensure that the party would not be reduced to ruling only one big state, Punjab, in the entire country. Apart from Punjab, the Congress has governments in only Puducherry and Mizoram.

No government in Karnataka since the Ramakrishna Hegde-led Janata Party in 1985 has been re-elected.

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