In show of strength, Kumaraswamy parades Congress-JDS MLAs at Raj Bhawan

HD Kumaraswamy has said he has submitted letters of support from 117 MLAs to Governor Vajubhai Vala and has been assured his claim would be looked into.

IANS Photo

Bengaluru: A blue bus, several Congress-JDS MLAs and a leader determined to become the next chief minister - that would perhaps best sum up scenes at Karnataka's Raj Bhawan on a politically charged Wednesday evening.

HD Kumaraswamy led a delegation of Congress-JDS MLAs to meet Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala and once again staked claim to form the next government in the state. In a spillover from Tuesday's high-voltage political drama which saw BJP emerge as the single-largest party but the Congress-JDS combine managing to together cross the halfway mark, the ball is now in Governor Vala's court. "We requested the Governor to consider our claim because we have submitted letters of support from 117 MLAs. We have the number, the majority and can provide a stable government," said Kumaraswamy after coming out from Raj Bhawan. "The Governor has told us he would consider our claim based on the Constitution and past court judgements."

We have submitted the necessary documents which show that we have the numbers required to form the government. He (Governor of Karnataka) promised he will consider according to the Constitution: HD Kumaraswamy after meeting Karnataka Governor #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/jLzTl4JF0W — ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2018

Congress leader DK Shivakumar was also present with Kumaraswamy and said that he has faith in the Governor. "Governor has assured that he will take action as per the Constitution. We have our numbers, not not even a single member has moved out. We will not allow any such thing to happen," he said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot - at the KPCC office around the same time - pointed an accusatory finger at BJP. "They are trying to poach our MLAs by offering money. We will not tolerate this," he told mediapersons.

Even as the Governor is keeping cards close to his chest, finger-pointing has become the reality of Karnataka politics in the aftermath of counting. While Congress-JDS reportedly plans to take MLAs to a resort outside Bengaluru to prevent any possible poaching, BJP maintains that it ought to be invited to form the government based on numbers it already has vis-a-vis Congress-JDS combine.