Bengaluru, May 17: As the term of the longest-serving Chief Minister of Karnataka in three decades, Siddaramaiah, draws to a close, Karnataka's next Chief Minister will once again be B S Yeddyurappa, the BJP's candidate and Lingayat leader from Shimoga district.
However, it is not clear how long Yeddyurappa's term might last since the BJP has not publicly said how they will meet the 8-seat gap they are currently facing to win the majority in the Assembly.
A special bench of India's apex court said it will not withhold the swearing-in of B S Yeddyurappa at 9am (IST) on Thursday as CM of Karnataka after a pre-dawn hearing on Thursday.
After hearing arguments from both sides the Supreme Court of India said it would not interfere in the decision of Governor Vajubhai R Vala's decision to invite the BJP to form the new government and prove its majority in a Floor Test in the Assembly. The court issued notice to CM candidate Yeddyurappa and asked his lawyer to appear before the court.
The Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress combine approached the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday night. Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra agreed to constitute a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri, Arvind Bobde and Ashok Bhushan to hear their plea. The JD(S)-Congress alliance is asking the court to deem the letter issued by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala asking B S Yeddyurappa and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) illegal and unconstitutional because the BJP is 8 seats short of being able to form a majority government.
The hearing, which began in the wee hours of Thursday, features senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi for the Congress-JD(S), former Attorney General for India Mukul Rohatgi will argue for two BJP elected representatives and Attorney General for India K K Venugopal for the Union of India (Central government). Attorney General for India K K Venugopal alleged that some of the signatures obtained by the JD(S)-Congress alliance from their elected representatives could be fake. Venugopal is appearing on behalf the the Union government. He also said to the judges that the court cannot restrain the swearing-in of B S Yeddyurappa as the next Chief Minister of Karnataka because the court doesn't know how many elected representatives the BJP has on its side.
The arguments were made in the aftermath of a fractured people's mandate in Karnataka, which continued to keep a question mark on who will form the government in the state. The political tussle reached the India's top court late on Wednesday night. After declining to stay the swearing-in ceremony of Yeddyurappa, the court is continuing to hear the case. A order is expected at around 6am (IST), Thursday.



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