Bengaluru, May 17: Hours after taking oath on Thursday, an upbeat Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said he was confident of winning the majority and being in power for five years.
"I am thankful to the people of the state, especially farmers and the poor, who have supported me. People are with me and the BJP and I am confident that I will win the majority and be in power for the next five years," asserted Yeddyurappa, addressing the media after taking oath as the Chief Minister.
Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah for his swearing-in as the Chief Minister, he accused the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) of trying to steal the people's mandate by forming an alliance.
"The Congress and JD-S have formed an unholy alliance despite people choosing the BJP. We are confident of winning the majority," he said.
There were many JD-S and Congress legislators who know the BJP would form the government and he was confident they will vote for his government, he said.
Yeddyurappa, however, declined to elaborate how the BJP would gain the majority on the floor of the House, saying the issue was being heard at the Supreme Court.
Earlier, a three-judge bench of the apex court rejected a joint writ petition of the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular to stall the swearing in of Yeddyurappa at a special hearing early in the day.
The top court, however, said the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa was subject to the final outcome of the matter before it and posted the case for further hearing at 10:30 a.m. on Friday.
Of the 222 constituencies where polling was held on May 12, the BJP won 104 seats while the Congress won in 78 and JD-S won in 38 seats, throwing up a hung Assembly. The BJP is still eight seats short of the 112-halfway mark needed for a simple majority.
According to Governor Vajubhai R. Vala's directive, Yeddyurappa has to prove a majority within 15 days.
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Lucknow (PTI): Denied a ticket from Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat, BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Thursday wrote an emotional letter to the people of his constituency in which he asserted that his relationship with them will remain intact till his last breath.
Sharing the letter on X, he said, his relationship with Pilibhit is one of love and trust which is far above any political calculations.
The BJP has fielded Uttar Pradesh Public Works Minister Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit replacing Gandhi, who has been vocal against his own government several times on the issue of inflation and unemployment.
Prasada had filed his nominations on this seat on Wednesday.
Recounting his association with the constituency, he said "Today, when I am writing this letter, countless memories have made me emotional. I remember that little three-year-old child who came to Pilibhit for the first time in 1983 holding the fingers of his mother. Little did he know that one day this land would become his work place and the people here would become his family".
"The ideals given by Pilibhit were instrumental in my upbringing and development not only as an MP but also as a person. Being your representative has been the greatest honour of my life and I have always raised my voice for your interests to the best of my ability," he said.
Varun Gandhi said his tenure as an MP may be coming to an end, but his relationship with Pilibhit can't end till his last breath.
"If not as an MP, then at least as a son, I am committed to serve you throughout my life and my doors will always remain open for you as before. I came into politics to raise the voice of the common man and today I seek your blessings to continue doing this work always. Even if I have to pay any cost for this," he added.
This is for the first time in over three decades that the mother-son duo of Maneka and Varun Gandhi will not be in the fray from the Pilibhit constituency which is located in the Terai belt bordering Nepal.
The denial of ticket to Varun Gandhi this time did not come as a surprise as he has been criticising the BJP on the issues of farmers, health and jobs.
After he was replaced by Prasada, reports did the rounds that Varun Gandhi might contest from the seat as an independent candidate. The suspense ended on Wednesday when he did not turn up before the nominations ended.
His mother Maneka Gandhi, the sitting MP from Sultanpur, was, however, given another chance from the same seat by the BJP.
The Pilibhit seat has remained with Maneka Gandhi or her son Varun Gandhi since 1996.
Maneka Gandhi won the seat on a Janata Dal ticket in 1989, lost in 1991 and won again in 1996. She won from the constituency in 1998 and 1999 as an Independent candidate. She won the seat in 2004 and 2014 as a BJP candidate.
Varun Gandhi won the seat in 2009 and 2019 as a BJP candidate.
प्रणाम पीलीभीत 🙏 pic.twitter.com/D6T3uDUU6o
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) March 28, 2024