Congress seeks appointment with President Kovind; to raise concerns over Karnataka government formation

As confusion still prevails on the formation of Karnataka government, the Congress on Friday sought an appointment with President Ram Nath Kovind to raise their concern.

All like-minded opposition parties will appraise Kovind about the Karnataka Governor inviting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form government in the state amidst a split verdict in the Assembly election.

Although the opposition has requested Kovind for an appointment on Saturday, the meeting has been postponed to next week in the view of the floor test be held in Karnataka Assembly tomorrow.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the floor test to ascertain whether newly appointed Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa enjoys the majority in the state.

The SC verdict came days after the Congress and JD-S moved the apex court against the decision of Governor Vala to invite Yeddyurappa to form government in Karnataka.

The BJP, which emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats in Karnataka Assembly, was invited by Governor Vala to form the government despite the JD-S-Congress combine staking claim by citing the support of 117 MLAs. The required number to form the government in Karnataka is 112.

Read | Supreme Court orders floor test in Karnataka Assembly; CM Yeddyurappa 100% confident to prove majority

Earlier, on May 12 polling for 222 of the 224 Assembly took place across the Karnataka. BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa took oath as chief minister in Bengaluru on Thursday.

The parties, including the RJD, want to highlight to the President that different rules are being cited in different states over government formation. Even though the RJD is the single largest party in Bihar, it was not considered by the governor. Similar situations have been witnessed in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya.

Congress MLAs are also seeking to meet the respective governors and stake their claim to form the government in states where they are the single largest party.

(With inputs from agencies)