Finally, Dharam lets go: Bangalore over to BJP & the rebel ‘secular’ son

The Governor has invited Kumaraswamy, elected by the JD(S) and 78 BJP MLAs as their leader, to form a new government in the 224-member Assembly at the earliest date.

Once sworn in, the JD(S)-BJP alliance, which claims the support of nearly 140 MLAs, has eight days to prove its majority.

“This will provide an opportunity to the members of the former government to put forth their viewpoint and those who feel that the floor test could not materialise for no fault of theirs,’’ Chaturvedi said.

BJP state unit president B S Yediyurappa, who will be Deputy Chief Minister in the new government, said February 3 was the swearing-in.

Dharam Singh who clung on, hoping Gowda would win his son back, did not table a motion of confidence yesterday as directed by the governor. He sought a fresh date saying Speaker M Krishna—a JD(S) member—had not given him the opportunity.

Announcing his resignation after a meeting with the Governor this morning, Singh said: “I did not want to cheat anyone. I did not want to stick to the CM’s chair. I met the Governor and told him a session must be called where we will place our statement. He said there were technical difficulties. I have decided to give up and resign. The new government, which is a result of opportunistic politics, will not last long.’’

Chaturvedi explained: “I felt that at this stage it is futile to allow a fresh confidence motion from the evidence of what happened yesterday. I thought another way of redressal is to invite the new government for a floor test.”

CM-in-waiting Kumaraswamy said the Congress was responsible for creating divisions within his family and for portraying the image that a political drama directed and scripted by his father had been played out in the state over the past 10 days. Both Kumaraswamy and Yediyurappa hoped that they would succeed in getting Gowda to accept the new alliance in due course.

Gowda, who had called Kumaraswamy his ‘‘true son” for allying with the BJP to prevent a split in the JD(S), quit as JD(S) national president yesterday over his son’s move to a “communal” BJP.