Kumaraswamy to face floor test; BJP fields nominee for Speaker's post

H. D. Kumaraswamy gestures to the gathering as he arrives to be sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka, in Bengaluru on Wednesday | AP H. D. Kumaraswamy gestures to the gathering as he arrives to be sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka, in Bengaluru on Wednesday | AP

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will face a floor test on Friday which he is widely expected to sail through, barring any unforeseeable events, ending the 10-day political uncertainty in the state. The 58-year-old Kumaraswamy, who was sworn in at a grand assembly of leaders of non-BJP parties yesterday, looks sitting pretty given the strength of the JD(S)-Congress-BSP coalition in the House.

As directed by Governor Vajubhai Vala on May 19 after inviting him to form the government, Kumaraswamy will move the confidence motion in the assembly at 12.15 pm and ask the new Speaker to conduct the floor test.

Number game

While the Congress has 78 MLAs, Kumaraswamy's JD(S) has 36, and BSP 1. The alliance has also claimed support of the lone KPJP MLA and an independent. Kumaraswamy had won from two constituencies. The 224-member Assembly has an effective strength of 221, as election for Jayanagar seat was countermanded following the death of the BJP candidate, and deferred in R.R. Nagar over allegations of electoral malpractices. The BJP is the single largest party in the Assembly with 104 MLAs.

DK unhappy?

Senior Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar, who was widely credited with having kept the flock of party MLAs together amid claims of attempted poaching by the BJP, is reportedly not happy after being ignored for the deputy chief minister's post that went to the party's dalit face G. Parameshwara. "Is it the same for those who win one seat and those who win the state? I have not come to politics to take sanyas. I will play chess not football," Shivakumar had said. Parameshwara took oath as the deputy chief minister on Wednesday along with Kumaraswamy.

BJP unfazed

BJP's B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was sworn in as the chief minister on May 17, had stepped down two days later in the face of imminent defeat without going through the motions of a floor test. Unfazed by Yeddyurappa's unceremonious exit, the BJP fielded its senior leader S Suresh Kumar, a fifth term MLA, for the post of the Speaker whose election will precede the trust vote. Ramesh Kumar of Congress too filed his nomination for the post as the candidate of the ruling coalition.

HDK ministry

Kumaraswamy plans to expand his ministry next week after the Congress submits the names for its quota of 21 Cabinet posts and he selects 11 of his legislators to fill the JD(S) quota of Cabinet posts.

Challenges remain

Though Kumaraswamy is expected to sail through Friday's floor test, the challenges before the Congress-JD(S) alliance are likely to remain. Yeddyurappa has predicted that the alliance wouldn't last more than three months. BJP hopes that once Kumaraswamy forms his cabinet, the disgruntled MLAs could be open to switching side. After taking oath, Kumaraswamy had voiced confidence about winning the floor test, but said he had an apprehension that the BJP would try to repeat "Operation Kamala" to bring down his government.

Operation Kamala

The term "Operation Kamala" or "Operation Lotus" was coined in 2008, when the BJP state chief B S Yeddyurappa took over as the chief minister. The party was short of three MLAs for a simple majority. As part of "Operation Kamala", named after the BJP's election symbol lotus, some Congress and JD(S) MLAs were persuaded to join the saffron party, relinquish their membership of the Assembly, and recontest elections. Their resignations brought down the numbers required for a victory during the trust vote, which Yeddyurappa won.