Yeddyurappa may resign before Karnataka trust vote if he feels he does not have the majority: Sources

Though the Governor directed Yeddyurappa to seek a vote of confidence on the floor of the House within 15 days from the date of assumption of office as the CM, SC ordered the floor test on Saturday, rejecting his plea for a week`s time to prove his majority.

BENGALURU: Just hours before the trust vote in the Karnataka Assembly, sources are claiming that Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has been told to resign before the floor test if he feels he does not have the majority to win. As per sources, he has prepared a 13-page speech which he will deliver ahead of the trust vote. The BJP government led by Yeddyurappa is facing a crucial trust vote on Saturday in the Karnataka Assembly.

The Assembly session began on Saturday with legislators of the BJP, Congress and JD-S taking oath. Chief Minister Yeddyurappa was the first to take oath followed by Congress legislature party leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Janata Dal Secular (JDS) legislature party leader HD Kumaraswamy.

Yeddyurappa requires the 112-halfway mark to win the motion or one more than the half of the members present when the floor test is conducted in the House with an effective strength of 222. Of the 222 seats, the BJP won 104, Congress 78, JD-S, 37 and one each by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) and an Independent. As the single largest party, the BJP is eight short of the 112-halfway mark in the House.

As Kumaraswamy won from both Channapatna and Ramanagaram segments, the party's effective strength in the House is 36 as he can cast only once.

Though the Governor directed Yeddyurappa to seek a vote of confidence on the floor of the House within 15 days from the date of assumption of office as the Chief Minister, a three-judge bench of the top court ordered the floor test on Saturday, rejecting his plea for a week`s time to prove his majority.

Karnataka Assembly has turned into a fortress ahead of the trust vote. There is heightened security and extra vigil in and around the House. "Elaborate security arrangements have been made at the secretariat and the nearby legislators' home to facilitate smooth conduct of the assembly proceedings for the floor test," Director General of Police Nilamani Raju said.