Since the Congress-JDS coalition formed a government in the state of Karnataka last year, the government is literally in a “to be or not to be” situation. While internally the coalition faces many problems, on top of it, BJP is trying to form its own government in the state.
The latest crisis hit the ruling coalition on Saturday when As many as 12 MLAs from the ruling coalition submitted their resignation to the speaker of Karnataka Assembly. Out of the 12 legislators, nine are from the Congress and three are from the JD(S).
The mass resignation comes just days after Congress MLA Anand Singh resigned over the differences he had with the party.
However, the resignations have not been yet accepted by the Speaker.
How does this affect the numbers in Congress-JDS Karnataka assembly?
Current status
The Karnataka assembly has a total of 225 members, including the Speaker. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the largest party with 105 MLAs. The Congress has 78 and JD(S) 37 MLAs. Besides these, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and KPJP have one MLA each. The Karnataka assembly also has an Independent MLA and one MLA is nominated by the government. If we exclude the Speaker, the strength falls to 224 and the magic figure to form the government is 113.
What if the speaker accepts the resignation?
If the Speaker accepts the resignation of the eight Congress and three JD(S) MLAs, the effective strength of the Karnataka assembly will fall to 214. Excluding the Speaker, the strength becomes 213. In this scenario, the magic figure needed to form the government will be 107. BJP+ since it already has 106 MLAs. It would however still need the support of one more MLA.
All eyes will now be on Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar when he attends office on Tuesday. If he accepts resignations of the 11 MLAs, a trust vote in the Karnataka assembly will be imminent. In case he refuses to accept the resignations, he will have to provide valid reasons for it.
A trust vote in the favour of the BJP might mean that the saffron party will get a chance to form their own government.
BJP’s role in triggering the Congress-JD(S) crisis
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