Yediyurappa welcomes SC decision on disqualified MLAs, says wait till evening to see if they join BJP

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to allow 17 disqualified Congress-JDS MLAs to contest ensuing by-polls in the state and asked to wait till evening to see if they join the Bharatiya Janta Party.

He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party will contest by-polls on all the 17 seats which will have by-polls.

The elections for 15 out of 17 seats are slated to be held on December 5. The poll body had withheld the elections for two seats -- Maski and Rajarajeshwari -- as the petitions against these Assembly constituencies are pending in the Karnataka High Court.

"I welcome the decision of the Supreme Court. Now, all 17 MLAs can contest the elections. Tomorrow onwards, we are going to allot tickets for all the assembly constituencies. We will contest on all the 17 seats," Yediyurappa told media persons here.

Being asked if the 17 MLAs would join BJP and get a ticket to contest by-polls he said: "Just wait till evening whether they are joining BJP or not. We will discuss with them also and decide who will get the ticket."

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the decision of the then Karnataka speaker K R Ramesh Kumar to disqualify 17 rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs under the anti-defection law but said that they can contest the upcoming by-elections in the state.

The rebel legislators were disqualified by the then speaker in July under the anti-defection law after they tendered their resignation.They were also barred from contesting polls for the duration of the current assembly, which is slated to end in 2023.The move had led to the falling of the Congress-JD (S) coalition government, paving way for BJP to stake claim to form a new government in the state.