Bangalore:
It's a windfall for the BJP government in Karnataka - the High Court has said that 11 BJP rebel MLAs who had withdrawn support to the government earlier this month were correctly disqualified by the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly.
"This order has come as a warning bell to those who indulge in defection. I hope this will herald a new era in bringing an end to defections in the country," Yeddyurappa told PTI.
Together with 5 independent MLAs, they had written to the Governor, accusing the government of corruption. Without these 16 MLAs, Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa could have collapsed.
Except that the Speaker of the Assembly disqualified them. That meant that the numbers tilted in the BJP's favour, when the Governor of Karnataka, HR Bhardwaj, ordered a vote of confidence. The overall strength of the House was reduced, bringing down the halfway mark, and Yeddyurappa was able to scrape through. Twice.
Yeddyurappa's first vote of confidence- on October 11- was described as undemocratic by opposition parties and by Bhardwaj, accused of being blatantly partisan by the BJP.
That day was marked by complete chaos including shouting and fights between security guards or marshals and MLAs. Bhardwaj said that a voice vote was not sufficient for a matter as serious as a test of strength.
A second trust vote followed three days later. Yeddyurappa won again, by a wafer-thin margin of six votes.
The rebel MLAs appealed to court against their disqualification. The court had made it clear that its decision could mandate a third test of strength- if it ruled in favour of the MLAs.
With the 11 BJP MLAs disqualified, the House has 208 seats. The BJP has 106 MLAs, the Opposition has 98 MLAs.
The appeal of the five independent MLAs who were disqualified will be heard on November 2 in Bangalore.
The political drama in the state - which has raged this entire month - is believed to have been staged by former chief minister and Opposition leader HD Kumarawamy of the JD (S). He is believed to have persuaded the rebels to split from the government.
The last few weeks have seen the JD(S) and the BJP accusing each other of trying to buy MLAs.
The rebel MLAs are expected to appeal against the High Court verdict in the Supreme Court. The JD(S) has also said it will appeal against the verdict.