5 Independents bargain hard, help BJP get its numbers

After a day of hectic negotiations with the six Independent MLAs elected to the Karnataka assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party late on Monday...

After a day of hectic negotiations with the six Independent MLAs elected to the Karnataka assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party late on Monday mustered the support of five and presented them before Governor Rameshwar Thakur to stake claim to form the new government in Karnataka.

With the support of the five Independent MLAs, the BJP, which garnered 110 seats in the polls, made it past the 113 mark needed for a simple majority. Following the meeting with the Governor, BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley said the five MLAs had given letters of unconditional support to the BJP, while the BJP presented a letter declaring B S Yeddyurappa as the party8217;s leader in the House. 8220;We are hoping the Governor will send a report to the Central government at the earliest for revocation of President8217;s rule and invite the BJP to form the government,8221; he said.

With the Independent MLAs bargaining hard for providing support 8212; with one member even doing a Madhu Koda and angling for the Chief Minister8217;s post 8212;the process of staking claim to form the government was delayed.

When newly elected BJP legislators gathered at the residence of Yeddyurappa, past noon on Monday, to elect a legislature party leader, Independent MLAs were not present. However, BJP leaders claimed two were on their way. Also missing from the group of legislators were the Reddy brothers, millionaire MLAs from iron mining district of Bellary.

In an apartment less than a kilometre away, the Reddy brothers were holding parleys with several Independent MLAs in an effort to muster up at least the three needed by the BJP to touch 113.

The BJP was sure only about Shivraj Thangadagi, a BJP rebel candidate from Kanakagiri in the Koppal district. By early evening, the party also managed to bring on board Goolihatti Shekhar, a miner and JDS rebel from Hosadurga in Chitradurga district. Among the other Independents, P M Narendraswamy from Malavalli in the Mandya district, an S M Krishna loyalist who did not get a Congress ticket, is reported to have suggested the option of being made Chief Minister.

Another Congress rebel D Sudhakar, a Congress rebel from Hiriyur in the Chitradurga district, angled for the Home Ministry while Venkataramanappa, another Congress rebel from the Pavagada constituency in Tumkur district, sought the Irrigation and Water Resources Ministry, sources said.

Story continues below this ad

While the BJP had also approached the six Independent MLA, R Varthur Prakash from Kolar, the Congress rebel lost out after he made a public statement that he wants his political guru Siddaramaiah to become the Chief Minister in a Congress-JDS coalition.