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India's ruling party fails to form govt. in Karnataka

Iran Press TV

Sat May 19, 2018 03:49PM

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has suffered a setback as the chief minister of the southern state of Karnataka stepped down after admitting he did not have enough support to form a government.

B.S. Yeddyurappa, 75, of the Hindu nationalist BJP resigned minutes ahead of a confidence vote on Saturday.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP to prove its majority in the Karnataka state assembly. The opposition Congress party had complained that the BJP lacked the necessary support.

"I have faced the test of fire all my life. I will lose nothing if I lose power. I am going straight to the governor's house to give my resignation," Yeddyurappa said. "The mandate was not for Congress and Janata Dal. They lost the election but they indulged in opportunist politics."

The resignation ended a week of mounting acrimony between Modi's BJP and the Congress party, which had ruled the southern state until an election last week. Congress will now get a new chance to form a government with a regional ally.

BJP deposed Congress as the biggest party after Karnataka election last Saturday, but its 104 seats were not enough for a majority in the 224-member assembly.

The development sets the stage for the formation of a new coalition government of regional Janata Dal and Congress, which together hold more than half the seats in 224-member assembly in Karnataka.

The buildup to the resignation saw accusations of bribery and poaching made against BJP. Congress accused BJP of offering up to $15 million to their members to switch sides in the vote. Modi's party strongly denied the allegation.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi accused Modi of personally approving the offering of bribes. "You've seen openly how the PM directly authorized purchasing of (lawmakers) in Karnataka, so the idea that PM spreads in the country that he is fighting corruption is a blatant lie," Gandhi said in a rare press conference in New Delhi. "I am proud that they have been shown that in India power, corruption and money is not everything but the will of people is everything."

Congress, which has lost 12 state elections since BJP took national power in 2014, was desperate to cling on to Karnataka, its last major bastion.

BJP's failure to rule Karnataka will hamper the Hindu nationalist party's bid to expand its base beyond its stronghold in the north and west and halt its momentum before general elections next year.