02 June,2011 05:39 PM IST | | ANI
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa today survived a floor test through a voice vote in the Assembly, bringing to an end to the days of political uncertainty in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government headed by Yeddyurappa won confidence vote in the Assembly 119-0 amid a walkout by the Congress and Independents and a boycott by the JDS.
The Assembly session began today with Yeddyurappa deciding to use the opportunity to prove his majority.
He managed to get 199 votes in his favour with no votes against him, as the opposition Congress staged a walkout and the JD (S) boycotted the session.
The sudden decision to go in for the trust vote was taken by the BJP Legislature party meeting in Bangalore on Wednesday apparently to blunt the Opposition campaign against the government and to set at rest speculation about its strength following the recent political turmoil in the state.
The recommendation by Governor H R Bhardwaj to impose President's rule in the wake of Supreme Court striking down the disqualification of 11 BJP rebel MLAs and five Independents was rejected by the Centre.
Karnataka's political row had been boiling over since the past few weeks, with no end in sight to the tussle between the state-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the state opposition over Bhardwaj's recent recommendation.
The Governor's report had come in the wake of a Supreme Court judgment which reversed the Karnataka High Court's decision to disqualify 11 BJP rebel legislators and five independents, ahead of a crucial trust vote in the state legislative assembly.
The Supreme Court ruling created a storm in Karnataka leading several political analysts to suggest that the government headed by Yeddyurappa could even face a huge loss in its majority in the state assembly.
A rebellion by some lawmakers last year had reduced the Yeddyurappa ministry to a minority in the 225-member Assembly, leading Bhardwaj to order the Chief Minister to seek a trust vote.
Bhardwaj ordered another trust vote, which Yeddyurappa won on October 14, 2010 with 106 votes in favour and 100 against.
Out of the 16 rebel legislators, 11 belonged to the provincial ruling BJP, and were disqualified on the basis of a complaint filed by Yeddyurappa on October 7, 2010.
The legislators had written identical letters to Bhardwaj on October 6, 2010, indicating that though they had been elected on BJP tickets, they had become 'disillusioned' with the functioning of the Yeddyurappa Government.
