BS Yeddyurappa resigns as Karnataka chief minister ahead of floor test

Two days after taking oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka for the third time, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yeddyurappa resigned from his post ahead of the floor test. Yeddyurappa’s move came after it became clear that he would fail to prove majority in the house. Yeddyurappa’s resignation came in less than 48 hours after he took oath as the state chief minister, replacing Congress’ Siddaramiah.

Yeddyurappa’s resignation now paves way for Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy to take over as the Chief Minister. The Congress and JD(S) entered into a post-poll alliance to stake claim to form the government as they had the required majority number to prove majority on the floor of the house.What made the job tougher for Yeddyurappa was the sudden emergence of missing Congress MLAs — Anand Singh and Pratap Gowda Patil — after the grand old party alleged that they were being held captive at the Goldfinch Hotel in Bengaluru, barely a kilometre from the state assembly where the MLAs were administered oath of office by pro tem speaker KG Bopaiah.

While Anand Singh was captured on cameras leaving the hotel for the assembly, Pratap Gowda Patil who made a dramatic entry was seen having lunch at Vidhana Soudha with Congress’s DK Suresh and Dinesh Gundu Rao. He was surrounded by other MLAs of the Congress as well.