Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa was set to seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly on Monday, a day after 14 more rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs were disqualified by Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar under the anti-defection law. Yediyurappa said he was “100 per cent” certain of proving his majority.

The Speaker’s ruling

On Sunday, Kumar disqualified eleven Congress and three JD(S) legislators, in addition to the three he had disqualified earlier, bringing the total to 17. He announced the decision at a hastily called press conference on the eve of the vote, two days after Yediyurappa took office. He rejected the MLAs’ resignations, allowed the petitions filed by the two parties, and turned down the rebels’ request for four more weeks to appear before him.

The Speaker said the MLAs would cease to be members until the term of the 15th Assembly ends in 2023, and said he had acted on his “judicial conscience”. An emotional Kumar also spoke of the mental pressure he had faced as Speaker. His earlier position that disqualified members cannot contest or be elected for the rest of the House’s term has been challenged by the BJP, the rebels and several legal experts. His move also came amid signs that the BJP was considering a no-confidence motion against him if he did not step down when the House met.

New arithmetic

With 17 members out, the 224-member Assembly now has an effective strength of 207, not counting the Speaker, who holds a casting vote in a tie, so 104 is enough for a majority. The BJP has 105 MLAs, or 106 with the support of an Independent. The Congress has 66 including the nominated member, the JD(S) 34, and there is one BSP member, whom his party expelled after he failed to back the Kumaraswamy government in the July 23 vote. That government had fallen because 20 MLAs stayed away: the 17 rebels plus one each from the Congress, the BSP and the Independent.

Yediyurappa said the Finance Bill drawn up by the previous Congress-JD(S) government would be passed without changes after the trust vote, as it was urgently needed to release funds, including for salaries.

Rebels head to court

Many of the disqualified MLAs, still in Mumbai, said they would take the decision to the Supreme Court. Pratap Gowda Patil, the MLA from Maski, told voters in a video message not to panic and said he was confident of winning in court. Another disqualified MLA, Munirathana, told a local news channel that they had expected to be disqualified because Congress leaders had threatened them with it.

See also: Janata Dal (Secular) | State assembly members

Originally published on 29 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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