Kumaraswamy floor test today

Kumaraswamy will seek a confidence vote on the floor of the Assembly as Governor T N Chaturvedi directed him to do soon after he was sworn in as chief minister on February 3. The Governor gave him a week to prove his majority, but a confident Kumaraswamy announced that he would seek the trust vote on February 8 itself.

The BJP on Tuesday issued a whip to 79 of its legislators to vote in favour of the motion. BJP Legislature Party leader and Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has also convened a meeting of the legislature group on Wednesday, prior to the legislature session.

‘‘We are confident of getting a support of around 130 to 135 members,’’ Yediyurappa told reporters, adding that five JD(U) MLAs had also extended their support to the government besides a few independent legislators.

He also said that the Cabinet would be expanded before February 13. But he refused to comment on whether the Cabinet would be expanded in installments or at one go.

Interestingly, the ‘confident’ Kumaraswamy chose not to issue a whip to his supporters in the JD(S), preferring to leave the vote to their ‘conscience’.

The partywise position in the Assembly is as follows—BJP: 79; Congress: 64; JD(S): 58; JD(U): 5; Independents: 13; Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Party, Republican Party of India, CPI (Marxist) and the Kannada Nadu: one each; nominated member: one; Speaker: one.

Sudden developments paved the way for formation of the new coalition, after Kumaraswamy-led JD(S) splinter group decided to ally with BJP against the wishes of JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and toppled the Dharam Singh-led Congress-JD(S) government last month.