New Delhi: BS Yeddyurappa, two days after taking oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka, has resigned.
Unsure of numbers ahead of the trust vote, Bharatiya Janata Party decided to quit before facing the trust vote.
In an emotional farewell speech, Yeddyurappa said, “Who won how many seats is not important. I don't do party politics. I do people's politics. I have been humiliated. I will continue to fight for the farmers. All my life I fought for them. I dedicate my life to farmers. Till my last breath I will work for them."
Yeddyurappa finished his speech with “I resign," and turned around to shake hands with Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and walked out of the house.
This comes after multiple allegations by the Congress stating that Yeddyurappa and his party members tried to buy out MLAs offering them ministerial posts and crores of rupees as rewards for allegiance.
The numbers in the newly constituted Assembly did not look particularly bright for the BJP.
Just seven MLAs short of clear majority, the party could not have given away the CM's chair to the minor partner.
That would have sent a wrong message to the core BJP voteback and Lingayat community which seems to have stood by the party in the elections.
Congress' offer of CM's post to JD(S) further limited BJP's options as Kumaraswamy would not settle for a lesser bargain.
BJP had no option perhaps but to be seen to be making a sincere effort to install BSY- a Lingayat leader.
In doing that, the party has attempted to mobilise the community, and also the core votebase.
The denouement was an emotional speech by BSY - a la Vajpayee - before going down as a martyr.
“We will win all 28 Lok Sabha seats. I assure the people that will we win 150 seats next time," said Yeddyurappa.
This is reminiscent of the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee resigning in 1996, 13 days after forming the government.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in by President Shankar Dayal Sharma as the Prime Minister. The BJP did not have numbers but decided to stake a claim and form the government. Vajpayee faced the trust vote, made an emotional speech which was telecast live by the national broadcaster.
“If they (Congress) think that they can run the government, they are welcome to do but we will keep serving the nation in our ways. There is 40 years of penance behind our efforts for the nation. We do not enjoy the majority today, does not mean we have not served our motherland any less," said Vajpayee on the floor of the House.
While replying to the debate on confidence motion, the former PM decided to quit and drove down to Rashtrapati Bhavan to tender his resignation. It was the BJP's first brush with power at the Centre as the leader of the non-Congress alliance; and a tactical move to expand its political footprint beyond the traditional stronghold in the north and the west.
With BS Yeddyurappa now out of power in Karnataka, this could also pave the way for BJP to honour him with a Central portfolio.
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