BJP defends Governor inviting Yeddyurappa to form government

Defending Governor Vajubhai R. Vala's invitation to BJP legislature party leader B.S. Yeddyurappa to form the new government in the state, the party on Wednesday accused the Congress and the JD-S of being opportunist and sabotaging people's mandate.

"We (BJP) won the majority in the state... There was no pre-poll alliance between Congress and JD-S, which fought each other bitterly and criticised each other," Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national general secretary P. Muralidhar Rao told reporters here.

The "opportunist" Congress and JD-S were forgetting people's mandate, Rao said.

"The mandate shows that people have rejected Congress rule, but they (Congress and JD-S) are trying to subvert the democratic process and sabotaging people's expression," he said.

Rao said it was only constitutional to allow the single-largest party to form the government and prove its majority on the floor of the House.

"The letter we've received from the Governor has directed us to prove our majority within 15 days of assuming the office," he added.

Of the 222 constituencies where polling was held on May 12, the BJP won in 104, while the Congress won in 78 seats and the JD-S in 38, along with its ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which won one seat, resulting in a hung verdict.

The JD-S on Tuesday agreed to accept Congress' unconditional support to form the new government, as the parties together have 116 seats.

The BJP, on the other hand, is eight seats short of the 112-halfway mark needed for a simple majority.

--IANS

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