117 MLAs voted in Kumaraswamy's favour: ANI
Karnataka floor test updates: HD Kumaraswamy wins trust vote, BJP walks out of state Assembly
Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy will face a floor test on Friday which he is widely expected to sail through

Highlights
Have worked for maintaining secular identity, says Kumaraswamy
Speaking ahead of the trust vote, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that his decision to enter into an alliance with the Congress was taken for the future of JD(S), reported The Hindu. "My family has not hankered for power. We have worked for maintaining secular identity. Today, people should not feel that I joined hands with Congress because I wanted to become the Chief Minister. I took the decision for the future of my party," he said.
HD Kumaraswamy questions Yeddyurappa over claiming mandate to form govt in Karnataka
Hitting out at Leader of Opposition BS Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that, being a custodian of democracy, how could the BJP leader make a statement stating he would not allow any other party to form the government, reported The Hindu. "He is the custodian of democracy. We are now 118 in strength, including Congress, Janata Dal (S), BSP and independents. We submitted the letter to the Governor requesting him to allow us to form the government. However, he chose to invite the single largest party and gave them 15 days' time to prove their majority. This has not happened in other states," Kumaraswamy said, as he moved the motion for the floor test.
Visual of HD Kumaraswamy moving the trust vote motion
Addressing the Assembly, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said while the BJP feels the mandate is theirs, he is yet to understand that thinking, reported The Hindu. "The Opposition feels the mandate is theirs, but I am yet to understand how they believe it to be so. In 2004 also it was a similar situation. I came to the Assembly then and observed the developments and discussions from the last bench. Today, I am being labelled as a controversial politician," he said.
HD Kumaraswamy moves trust vote motion
According to The News Minute, Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy has moved the motion of confidence on the floor of the House.
Karnataka DGP Neelamani Raju, who 'irked' Mamata Banerjee, has not been transferred
The Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP), Neelamani Raju, who reportedly 'irked' West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee after making her walk a few metres during HD Kumaraswamy's oath taking ceremony on Wednesday, clarified she has not been transferred, reported The News Minute.
Speaking to the media, HD Kumaraswamy also rejected reports of Neelamani being transferred. "I am only the CM designate, not the CM until the floor test is over. I cannot make decisions about who should be transferred. Neelamani Raju has not been transferred now."
'Doing my job for the party' says Congress leader DK Shivakumar
"I am doing my job for the party, let us not speculate on other things. Congress party will take the right decision," Congress leader DK Shivakumar told The Hindu, on his initial absence from Friday's meet after being denied the deputy chief minister's post. He likely to land a Cabinet berth.
Karnataka DGP Neelamani Raju, who ‘irked’ Mamata Banerjee during HD Kumaraswamy's swearing-in, transferred
The Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP), Neelamani Raju, has reportedly been transferred after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was 'irked' with her for having to walk a few metres during HD Kumaraswamy's oath taking ceremony on Wednesday. As per an ANI video, Mamata was forced to walk a few metres to reach the Vidhana Soudha as vehicular movement was restricted around the area. In the video, a annoyed Mamata was seen gesturing her dismay to the Karnataka DGP and explaining her situation to former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
Neelamani was appointed as the first woman DGP of Karnataka in 2017. Hailing from Uttarakhand, she is a 1983 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. According to The Financial Express, a state home ministry official denied the transfer had to do anything with the Mamata incident.
Congress MLAs are unhappy about 'unholy alliance' with JD(S), will rebel, claims BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje
"After the cabinet expansion, the chief minister and his deputy will face the heat of their parties. We are expecting many Congress MLAs (lawmakers) to rebel because they are unhappy about the deputy chief minister and they are also very unhappy about the unholy alliance with the JD(S)," claimed BJP parliamentarian Shobha Karandlaje, reported NDTV.
BJP fields five-time MLA S Suresh Kumar as its nominee for Speaker; banks on his clean image
Suresh Kumar, a fifth term MLA from Bengaluru, filed his nomination papers before Assembly Secretary S Murthy at Vidhana Soudha on Thursday.
According to media reports, Kumar, a lawyer by profession, came into electoral politics as a city corporator in 1983 on a BJP ticket. He was also its leader in the Council and has also been closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS).
LIVE NEWS and UPDATES
Yeddyurappa's speech was perhaps a rehearsal for drama company: Kumaraswamy
"I have listened to Mr. Yeddyurappa's speech carefully. But he has given wrong information and used impolite words in the house. I will not indulge in personal attacks. Listening to him, I feel the people will not give the BJP power and his speech was perhaps a rehearsal for some drama company,” The Hindu quoted Kumaraswamy as saying.
BJP stages walkout
Bengaluru: BJP stages walkout from the Karnataka Assembly ahead of floor test. pic.twitter.com/yPEBD1DJDN
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2018
Yeddyurappa warns Congress that JD(S) has a history of betrayal
According to News18, Yeddyurappa alleged that there are several charges of corruption against the Gowda family. He warned that the JD(S) had betrayed BJP in the past and may do the same with Congress.
Yeddyurappa warns of statewide protest if Kumaraswamy doesn't waive farm loans in 24 hours
Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa has warned of a statewide protest if the HD Kumaraswamy does not waive farm loans in 24 hours.
Yeddyurappa said Kumaraswamy had promised to waive farm loans worth Rs 53,000 crore, including the ones borrowed from nationalised banks, according to PTI.
"It was you who had promised waiving farm loans within 24 hours (after assuming office). The farmers will not be ready to buy your stories that you head a coalition government and it has its own compulsions. You have to announce it in this special session itself. Else, we will prepare an action plan to launch our agitation across the state," Yeddyurappa said.
BS Yeddyurappa recognised as Leader of Opposition
BJP legislature party leader BS Yeddyurappa was recognised as the Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka Assembly.
Newly-elected Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar made the announcement shortly after his election as the presiding officer of the House.
Govind Karjol would be the deputy opposition leader, Kumar said. — PTI
Will not give BJP a reason to protest, says HD Kumaraswamy
In his address to the Karnataka Assembly, ahead of the trust vote, HD Kumaraswamy hit out at BJP's BS Yeddyurappa and said the government will never play with farmers' lives. "In his (Yeddyurappa's) speech, he said that the government should focus on irrigation and work for the welfare of the farmers. We will not give an opportunity for the BJP to protest," The Hindu quoted him as saying.
Have worked for maintaining secular identity, says Kumaraswamy
Speaking ahead of the trust vote, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that his decision to enter into an alliance with the Congress was taken for the future of JD(S), reported The Hindu. "My family has not hankered for power. We have worked for maintaining secular identity. Today, people should not feel that I joined hands with Congress because I wanted to become the Chief Minister. I took the decision for the future of my party," he said.
Karnataka floor test latest updates: HD Kumaraswamy has won the trust vote by voice vote.
The BJP has staged a walkout from the Karnataka Assembly.
Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy has moved the motion of confidence on the floor of the House. Speaking ahead of the trust vote, Kumaraswamy said that his decision to enter into an alliance with the Congress was taken for the future of JD(S), reported The Hindu. "My family has not hankered for power. We have worked for maintaining secular identity. Today, people should not feel that I joined hands with Congress because I wanted to become the Chief Minister. I took the decision for the future of my party," he said.
In his maiden speech as the chief minister, HD Kumaraswamy said: "As leader of the House, I have the opportunity today. We are happy that you (KR Ramesh Kumar) were unanimously elected as speaker of the House. When Siddaramaiah proposed your name and filed the nomination yesterday, I should have been present too." Other leaders, including BJP's BS Yeddyurappa, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and Congress Legislature Party chief Siddaramaiah.
Congress' KR Ramesh Kumar was elected as the Speaker of the House after the BJP withdrew S Suresh Kumar's candidature for the Speaker's post.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the trust vote, outside the Vidhana Soudha, Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy said: "We will see that the government continues for five years. We promise good governance." The Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly is set to be elected first before the trust vote takes place.
Ahead of the crucial trust vote at 12.15 pm on Friday, Congress MLAs reached the Vidhana Soudha in buses from the Hilton Embassy Golflinks at Domlur, Bengaluru. Meanwhile, according to CNN-News18, JD(S) MLAs arrived in a bus at Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's residence in Bengaluru on Friday morning. The JD(S) lawmakers were lodged at the Prestige Golfshire Resort off Devanahalli on the outskirts of the city.
Ahead of the trust vote at noon, HD Kumaraswamy told reporters outside his Bengaluru residence on Friday, that he was sure he was going to win. "I have no tension. I'm going to win clearly," he said.
Both the parties have issued whips to their respective lawmakers to vote in favour of the motion when put to vote.
"We have asked all our MLAs to stay together in the city for one more day to ensure their presence in the Assembly to avoid cross-voting or abstention during crucial voting on the confidence motion," a Congress official told IANS in Bengaluru.
Cloistered at a luxurious resort and hotel for the last nine days since political turmoil hit the state, the Congress and JD(S) lawmakers are cooling their heels away from their families and eagerly waiting for their ordeal to end. The lawmakers of the Congress are currently lodged at Hilton Embassy Golflinks at Domlur, reported while JD(S) MLAs are staying at Prestige Golfshire Resort off Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The MLAs are expected to remain at the resort and hotel till the trust vote begins.

File image of HD Kumaraswamy. AP
As Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy braces for a floor test on Friday, the special Assembly session is expected to begin around noon after the election of a new Speaker. While the JD(S)-Congress alliance has nominated Congress leader Ramesh Kumar while BJP has fielded five-time MLA S Suresh Kumar.
Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy will face a floor test on Friday which he is widely expected to sail through, barring any unforeseeable events, ending the 10-day political uncertainty in the state.
The 58-year-old Kumaraswamy, who was sworn-in at a grand assembly of leaders of non-BJP parties on Wednesday, looks sitting pretty given the strength of the JD(S)-Congress-BSP coalition in the House.
While the Congress has 78 MLAs, Kumaraswamy's JD(S) has 36, and BSP 1. The alliance has also claimed support of the lone KPJP MLA and an independent. Kumaraswamy had won from two constituencies.
BJP's BS Yeddyurappa, who was sworn-in as the chief minister on 17 May, had stepped down two days later in the face of imminent defeat without going through the motions of a floor test.
The 224-member Assembly has an effective strength of 221, as election for Jayanagar seat was countermanded following the death of the BJP candidate, and deferred in RR Nagar over allegations of electoral malpractices.
After taking oath, Kumaraswamy had voiced confidence about winning the floor test, but said he had an apprehension that the BJP would try to repeat "Operation Kamala" to bring down his government.
The term "Operation Kamala" or "Operation Lotus" was coined in 2008, when the BJP state chief BS Yeddyurappa took over as the chief minister. The party was short of three MLAs for a simple majority.
As part of "Operation Kamala", named after the BJP's election symbol lotus, some Congress and JD(S) MLAs were persuaded to join the saffron party, relinquish their membership of the Assembly, and re-contest elections. Their resignations brought down the numbers required for a victory during the trust vote, which Yeddyurappa won.
Unfazed by Yeddyurappa's unceremonious exit, the BJP on Thursday fielded its senior leader S Suresh Kumar, a fifth term MLA, for the post of the Speaker whose election will precede the trust vote.
Ramesh Kumar of Congress too filed his nomination for the post as the candidate of the ruling coalition.
"Based on the strength of numbers and various other factors, our party leaders have confidence that I will win. With that confidence I have filed my nomination," the BJP candidate said, indicating that the saffron party was keen on giving the JD(S)-Congress alliance a run for its money.
The BJP is the single largest party in the Assembly with 104 MLAs.
When asked about his chances of winning, the BJP nominee said, "I have filed my nomination. There is election tomorrow at 12:15 pm. After the election you will get to know."
Congress Legislature Party leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah exuded confidence about the coalition candidate's victory.
"I got to know that the BJP has also filed nomination. I hope they will withdraw. If election happens, Ramesh Kumar's victory is certain," he said.
Though Kumaraswamy will likely have a smooth sailing during the confidence vote, expanding the Cabinet may be a tough call for him.
Senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who was widely credited with having kept the flock of party MLAs together amid claims of attempted poaching by the BJP, is reportedly not happy after being ignored for the deputy chief minister's post that went to the party's Dalit face G Parameshwara.
"Is it the same for those who win one seat and those who win the state? I have not come to politics to take sanyas. I will play chess not football," Shivakumar had said.
In an indication of irritants Kumaraswamy will likely face, Parameshwara said on Thursday the coalition was yet to discuss the tenure of the JD(S) leader as the chief minister.
"We have not yet discussed those modalities," he said in response to a question about whether Kumaraswamy will be the chief minister for full five years.
"We are also yet to decide on what portfolios have to go to them and what should be with us....then five-year term, whether they should be or we should also," he said.
With inputs from PTI
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