Bangalore: The three-day-old Kumaraswamy government in Karnataka won a vote of confidence Friday without a contest, with the BJP MLAs walking out of the Assembly before the floor test, in an unexciting end to the 10-day high-voltage political drama after the polls yielded a hung House.
It turned out to be a smooth sailing for the 58-year-old HD Kumaraswamy, as BJP members trooped out of the House after Leader of the Opposition BS Yeddyurappa’s blistering attack on the ‘unholy’ JD(S)-Congress coalition. Kumaraswamy’s motion seeking the confidence vote was declared passed by voice vote by Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar in the absence of the BJP MLAs. Kumaraswamy described the BJP walkout as ‘escapism’.
The first signs of the BJP conceding defeat were visible when it pulled out its candidate Suresh Kumar from the race for the Speaker’s post, stating it had decided to honour the parliamentary tradition that the presiding officer should be chosen unanimously. Congress’ Ramesh Kumar was elected the Speaker, unopposed.
Seeking the trust vote, Kumaraswamy asserted the Congress-JD(S) coalition government would complete its five-year term, while maintaining he was conscious that his party JD(S) does not have a majority on its own. “I am pained that people have not placed their trust in me,” he said while adding the coalition government will be ‘stable for five years’.
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