BJP Wins Pro Tem Speaker Test: KG Bopaiah to Continue Conducting Floor Test in Karnataka

New Delhi, May 19: In what is believed a major setback for the Congress- JD(S) in Karnataka, the Supreme Court on Saturday rejected their plea challenging the appointment of pro tem speaker KG Bopaiah. With the decision of the Apex Court today, Bopaiah will continue to be pro-tem speaker for the floor test in Karnataka Assembly today.

Ahead of the floor test, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala appointed BJP MLA KG Bopaiah from Virajpet as the pro tem speaker for floor test in Karnataka State Assembly on Saturday.

On Friday, the Supreme Court slashed the 15-day window given by Governor Vajubhai Vala to BJP Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to prove majority and ordered a floor test in the Karnataka Assembly at 4 PM on Saturday.

The high-voltage hearing witnessed trading of charges between the BJP and the Congress-JD(S) combine with both claiming to have numbers in their favour.  The combine has alleged that Governor Vajubhai Vala was not correct in inviting the BJP, which had lesser numbers than the Congress-JD(S) alliance.

On the counting day of Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats. The Congress won 78 seats while  JD(S) won 37. Three seats have gone to others in the 224-member Assembly where elections were held for 222 seats. It must be noted that the majority mark was 112 seats and the post-poll alliance strength of the Congress-JD(S) combine, which claims to have 117 MLAs and has alleged foul play in the Governor inviting BJP to form the government.

Currently, the majority mark has gone down by one to 111 as JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has won from two assembly constituencies of Ramanagaram and Channapatna. He will be eligible to cast only one vote during the floor test.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2018 11:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).