Without the need for a floor test, two-day Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa resigned from his post after breaking into tears on Saturday in the Assembly, as he failed to get the support of the majority to form the government. As the events of the state’s nail-biting political drama came to an end, a number of the nation’s leaders came forward to express their views.
The defeat of the BJP in Karnataka led many to dub it as the ‘Victory for Democracy’.
Celebrating the success of the Congress, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the victory of Congress and the JD(S) was a great victory for democracy.
“I salute the MLAs of Congress and JD (S) for saving the democracy. They did not get lured by sops offered by BJP nor did they feel intimidated. Although they got elected as MLAs only four days ago, the Congress and JD (S) legislators have proved that the people of Karnataka have made the right choice. They had already defeated BJP in the electoral battle and by reducing Yeddyurappa to 'ek din ka sultan' they defeated the wrong aspirations and ambitions of PM Modi and Amit Shah to grab power at all costs." Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
He went on to say that this was the beginning of Congress’ victory in the 2019 elections and that nothing could ‘stop Rahul Gandhi from becoming Prime Minister of India’ now.
Echoing his views, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who parted ways with the BJP in March after they refused to give Special Category Status (SCS) to the state, tweeted saying, "The resignation of BS Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister of Karnataka is the victory of Democracy. With this we could save our constitution. With this result, the entire country would be happy. As a Chief Minister of a state and as a democrat I express happiness over this."
కర్ణాటక ముఖ్యమంత్రిగా బిఎస్ యడ్యూరప్ప రాజీనామా ప్రజా స్వామ్య విజయం. రాజ్యాంగాన్ని కాపాడుకోగలిగాం. ఈ పరిణామంతో భారతదేశం మొత్తం ఆనందపడుతోంది. ఒక రాష్ట్ర ముఖ్యమంత్రిగా ప్రజాస్వామ్య వాదిగా దీనిపై నా హర్షాన్ని, ఆనందాన్ని వ్యక్తం చేస్తున్నా.
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) May 19, 2018
Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, who aspires to build a coalition with the regional parties and thwart the BJP from forming the government in 2019 tweeted, "Democracy wins. Congratulations Karnataka. Congratulations DeveGowda Ji, Kumaraswamy Ji, Congress and others. Victory of the 'regional' front."
Democracy wins. Congratulations Karnataka. Congratulations DeveGowda Ji, Kumaraswamy Ji, Congress and others. Victory of the 'regional' front
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 19, 2018
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and Leader of Opposition of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav tweeted, “Truth can never be defeated! Truth will always defeat a lie or liar!”
Truth can never be defeated! Truth will always defeat a lie or liar! #KaranatakaFloorTest
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) May 19, 2018
In the Karnataka elections that were held on May 12 for 222 constituencies, the BJP could get only 104 seats, while the Congress secured 78 seats and the JD(S) managed to get 38 seats and 2 independent candidates. The Congress party extended a hand of support to the JD(S) forming a coalition with the former after 14 years, after having done the same last in 2004 and announced that JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy would be their candidate for the post of Chief Minister.
Despite, the signatures of 117 MLAs including the independent candidate, state Governor, Vajubhai Vala took a controversial decision and granted Yeddyurappa 15 days to prove majority and form the government. The Congress and JD(S) combine approached the Supreme Court objecting to this and an apex court held at midnight postponed the judgment to Friday and subsequently ordered for a floor test to be held at 4pm on Saturday.
Unable to prove majority, Yeddyurappa announced his resignation at the Karnataka Assembly on Saturday.