Karnataka crisis: Governor asks Yeddyurappa to prove majority by Oct 12

NDTV

Bangalore, 06 October 2010: The BJP government in Karnataka is spinning into a crisis.

 

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has dropped four dissident ministers - Venkataramanappa, Shivaraj Thangadagi, D Sudhakar and P M Narendraswamy - from the Cabinet.

 

The Chief Minister also said he is ready to prove his strength in the Legislative Assembly, if required.

 

Meanwhile, Twenty-one MLAs have met the governor and withdrawn support to the Yeddyurappa government, according to P M Narendraswamy, who’s leading the BJP revolt.

 

The provocation for the current churn is believed to be a recent Cabinet reshuffle which left several senior BJP leaders unhappy.

 

Yeddyurappa said this morning that more changes are likely. 2-3 senior ministers will quit, he said, and he "will expand Cabinet with induction of five-six Ministers."

 

Earlier this morning, the president of the Karnataka BJP said there was no cause for concern.  "Crisis is part of politics. What is happening in Karnataka now - among the BJP MLAs - it is all rumours and nobody should believe it. The BJP is united. We are working under Yeddyurappa," said K S Eswarappa.

 

H D Kumaraswamy, the leader of the Opposition JD(S) has met the Governor. The Congress and the JD(S) will benefit from any attempt to destabilize Yeddyurappa.

 

Karnataka: How the numbers add up

224-member assembly; majority mark is 113.  If 20 MLAs withdraw support, the government will be in a minority.