Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday exuded confidence on winning the trust vote to prove the Bharatiya Janata Party’s majority in the state assembly Monday.
“100% I will prove the majority, Yediyurappa said in Bengaluru, adding that the finance bill (appropriation bill) for the Karnataka Budget 2019 needs to be passed "urgently", as otherwise "we will not be able to draw funds even to pay salaries".
"So, tomorrow, after moving the confidence motion, we will first take up the finance bill. I have not even changed a comma or full stop in it. I will be tabling the finance bill prepared by the (previous) Congress-JD(S) government," he said.
Yediyurappa, who was sworn in as the Karnataka chief minister for the fourth time on Friday, had announced that he would seek the trust vote on Monday.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar on Sunday disqualified 14 more Congress-JD(S) MLAs under the anti-defection law, taking the total tally of rebel MLAs disqualified to 17. This will not have any direct impact on Yediyurappa's trust vote on Monday as effective strength of the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, excluding the speaker who has a casting vote in case of a tie, is 207.
The BJP has to win 104 votes to prove its majority. The saffron party, along with support of one independent, has 106 members in the house, followed by the Congress which has 66 MLAs, JD(S) 34 and Bahujan Samaj Party with one MLA. The BSP MLA has been expelled by the party for not voting for the HD Kumaraswamy-led government during its trust vote on Tuesday.
The 14-month-old Congress-JD(S) coalition government collapsed after losing the trust vote in a climax to the three-week-long Karnataka political crisis.
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