BJP will stake claim to form govt in Karnataka after taking guidance from national leaders, says Pralhad Joshi

New Delhi: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday said BJP will stake claim to form the government in Karnataka after taking guidance from the central leadership. “We are going to stake the claim to form the government but the formalities will be decided after taking guidance from the national leaders,” Joshi told reporters in New Delhi. [caption id=“attachment_4413375” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi. PTI[/caption] With 20 of its MLAs defying party whips, the 14-month-old Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka fell after its defeat on the floor of the Assembly forcing HD Kumaraswamy to resign. The 12-day political drama was triggered by the resignations of over a dozen rebel MLAs belonging to the coalition who submitted their papers at the speaker’s office and left for Mumbai where they were holed up in a hotel defying their party whips to be present and voting on the trust motion today. Immediately after the defeat, Kumaraswamy had rushed to Governor Vajubhai Vala and submitted his resignation. The Governor accepted the resignation. Speaking about the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the state which had ruled for 14 months, Joshi said, “By sabotaging the mandate they had formed an unholy alliance and the government for which there was no mandate. Somehow they ran it for a little more than a year, that itself is the biggest achievement of that government.” “Today the mandate given in 2018 is being honoured and for that, I am thankful to the people of Karnataka,” he added.