Karnataka government formation: There ought to be 'give and take' equation between Congress-JDS, says Mallikarjun Kharge

src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Karnataka cabinet formation pic.twitter.com/mJ5IEc6lMM — ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2018

The three-day-old BJP government in Karnataka had collapsed on Saturday, minutes before the scheduled trust vote, with CM BS Yeddyurappa resigning with defeat staring him in the face. It was his shortest stint in power. Yeddyurappa became the CM for the first time for seven days in 2007, but his government collapsed as the JD(S) reneged on honouring a power-sharing arrangement and withdrew support.

He became the CM for the second time when the BJP formed its first government in Karnataka in 2008. Yeddyurappa was at the helm of the state for over three years before he was made to quit following indictment by the Lokayukta in an alleged mining scam.

Hours later, HD Kumaraswamy, the chief ministerial candidate of the newly formed JD(S)-Congress-BSP alliance, had met Governor Vajubhai Vala and had said that he had been invited to form the government. "Today, the BJP government failed to show their strength in the House. On that basis governor invited me to form the next government," he had told journalists.

However, Kumaraswamy later in the evening had said that the swearing-in would be held on May 23 as May 21 happens to be the death anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and therefore it would not be appropriate to hold the ceremony on that date. Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in 1991.

The 58-year-old leader, son of JD(S) supremo and former PM HD Deve Gowda, had added that the Governor had given him 15 days to prove his majority, but had asserted "we don't need 15 days". The newly-formed alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221.

The political instability in the state had stemmed from a split verdict the electorate gave on May 15, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party (104 seats) but falling short of a majority. The Congress, which finished second with 78 seats, moved swiftly and stitched an alliance with 38-member JD(S)+ and backed its leader Kumaraswamy for chief ministership.

(With Agency inputs)