BS Yeddyurappa Sworn In As Chief Minister Of Karnataka; 15 Days To Prove Majority

A day after Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a government in the State, BS Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister at 9 am today. He took the oath as the 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka. BJP emerged as the single largest party in the assembly with 104 out of 224 seats and has 15 days to prove majority.

His Excellency the Governor of Karnataka has invited Sri @BSYBJP to form the government.

Sri @BSYBJP will take oath tomorrow as Chief Minister of Karnataka at 9 AM at Raj Bhavan. #CMBSY pic.twitter.com/DCSIx3APSZ

— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) May 16, 2018

#Bengaluru: BJP's BS Yeddyurappa takes oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. pic.twitter.com/f33w4GZjrS

— ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2018

Vajubhai Vala is an old Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member and multiple-term minister in the Gujarat state cabinet. Vala served as the finance minister for nine years under the chief ministerial tenure of Narendra Modi. It was the Narendra Modi government that made him the Governor of Karnataka.

What happened late night in the Supreme Court?

The Karnataka Governor’s invite to BJP for forming the government attracted sharp criticism from Congress. They alleged that the Governor was encouraging horse trading as BJP did not have the numbers. Calling the move “immoral, illegal and unconstitutional” they approached the Supreme Court for a stay order on the swearing-in ceremony.

In an unprecedented late-night hearing that lasted for three hours, Supreme Court refused Congress’s plea. “As far as swearing-in is concerned, we are not restraining it, but we are making it subject to the outcome of the case,” the three-judge bench said ordering the BJP to produce the letter of support from the majority of MLAs submitted to the governor by Yeddyurappa for forming the government, reported The Wire. The Supreme Court will resume hearing the case on May 18.

Just going by the fact that a 3 judge bench has agreed to do a hearing at 2.40 in the night in the highest court of India is a sign.

A big angry red blinking sign which reads, "WHATEVER IS HAPPENING IS NOT NORMAL."

— Meghnad (@Memeghnad) May 16, 2018

This was the second time Supreme Court held a late-night hearing. The first was on July 15 when a last-minute petition was heard against the execution of Yakub Memon for his role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

“The governor can’t negate democracy… The other side has 104 members and this side, 116…. It is elementary common sense on numbers (which one is greater),” Abhishek Singhvi, who had filed the request on behalf of the Congress-JDS combine, told the three-judge bench, reported NDTV.

The BJP contended that it should be allowed to form the government as it is the single largest party. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said it was the BJP which had been given the mandate by the people to form the government.

It is to be noted that according to figures from Election Commission of India, Congress has a vote share of 38% whereas BJP has a vote share of 36%.