Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy moved a confidence motion in the Assembly on Thursday, attacking the rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs and the BJP over the state’s political crisis. He said he was aware of the circumstances in which he faced the vote and repeated that “power is not permanent”.

The state of play

At least 12 rebel MLAs said again that they would not go back to the Congress, but the party got some relief when Ramalinga Reddy said he would vote for the coalition. BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa said before the vote that he was confident the government would fall that day.

The vote came a day after the Supreme Court said the 15 rebel MLAs “ought not” to be compelled to take part in the Assembly session, while leaving Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar free to decide on their resignations within whatever time he considered appropriate. If the resignations are accepted or the rebels stay away, the coalition’s tally would drop to 102, leaving it in a minority.

Congress divided over the verdict

Congress leaders reacted differently to the ruling on Wednesday. Abhishek Singhvi, who argued for the Speaker in court, told reporters outside Parliament that the party had won because 90 per cent of its arguments were accepted. He said the court had refused to fetter the Speaker, who would be master of the proceedings and could accept or reject the resignations at his discretion, and cited the court’s reference to Article 190 and Rule 202. He accused the BJP of spreading misinformation, said Yeddyurappa’s hopes of forming a government would remain a dream, and added that if more members resigned, the government should go.

Chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala took the opposite view, saying the order effectively nullified the whip and the anti-defection provisions of the Tenth Schedule and set a terrible precedent. He said the court should recall its May 2016 ruling against the BJP’s attempt to form a government in Uttarakhand, called blanket protection for the MLAs unheard of, and asked whether the separation of powers had been abandoned. State Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao described it as an extraordinary and bad judgement that shielded defectors, encouraged horse-trading, made the whip redundant and encroached on the legislature’s rights.

What happened next

The Congress-JD(S) government led by HD Kumaraswamy, which had taken office on 23 May 2018 with Congress support, fell in July 2019, and BS Yeddyurappa returned as Chief Minister.

See also: Congress | State assembly members

Originally published on 18 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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