The fate of the Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka was set to be decided in an Assembly trust vote, which the Speaker said should be held before 6pm. On the eve of the vote, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy urged the rebel MLAs to come back and “expose” the BJP during the debate, but they said they would stay away, while state BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa said the chief minister was only playing for time.

Offers, appeals and refusals

The Congress said the JD(S) was “ready to sacrifice” to keep the alliance alive, and that it wanted Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara or DK Shivakumar as chief minister. Shivakumar claimed Kumaraswamy had told the Congress it could name any leader it liked. The JD(S) did not confirm this, and earlier reports said a similar idea had been turned down by party supremo HD Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy’s father.

In a statement on Sunday, Kumaraswamy denied clinging to power and said the debate would show the country how the BJP was undermining democracy. He accused it of “immoral politics”, of forcibly taking away coalition MLAs and of getting the Raj Bhavan to set deadlines, and offered to discuss the rebels’ grievances. The rebels, staying in a Mumbai hotel, denied being held captive. In a video, rebel JD(S) MLA K Gopalaiah, flanked by ten other legislators, said there was “no question” of them attending. Former JD(S) state president AH Vishwanath blamed coalition politics for the resignations.

The coalition got some relief when BSP chief Mayawati told the party’s lone Karnataka MLA, N Mahesh, to vote for the motion. Yeddyurappa, for his part, asked where Kumaraswamy’s morality had been when the JD(S) and Congress joined hands after contesting against each other.

Deadlines and the courts

The House had been adjourned till Monday after the coalition let both of Governor Vajubhai Vala’s July 19 deadlines pass. Independent MLAs R Shankar and H Nagesh, who withdrew support from the government, planned to ask the Supreme Court to order a floor test no later than 5pm on July 22, their lawyer Mukul Rohatgi said. Kumaraswamy and the Congress had gone to the court on Friday, alleging that the Governor was interfering in the Assembly and seeking clarity on the court’s July 17 order, which in their view had hampered the issuing of whips. Before adjourning, Speaker Ramesh Kumar secured a commitment that the motion would be concluded on Monday.

The numbers

In all, 16 MLAs had resigned, 13 from the Congress and three from the JD(S), though Congress member Ramalinga Reddy later changed his mind. The ruling side counted 117 members: Congress 78, JD(S) 37, BSP 1 and one nominated member, besides the Speaker. The BJP, with the two independents, had 107 in the 225-member House. If 15 resignations were accepted or those MLAs stayed away, the coalition would drop to 101 and lose its majority. Yeddyurappa claimed the coalition had just 98 members against the BJP’s 106, and said he was “100 per cent confident” of a conclusion.

What happened next

The Kumaraswamy-led coalition government fell in July 2019, and B. S. Yeddyurappa returned as Chief Minister of Karnataka.

See also: JD(S) | Congress

Originally published on 22 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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