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Assembly session begins today; Speaker to be elected tomorrow

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

New chapter: Preparations being made on Tuesday for the legislature session starting on Wednesday.

Bangalore: The election of the Speaker of the 13th Legislative Assembly, scheduled to be held on Thursday, is expected to be the turning point for the crucial vote of confidence to be sought by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa the following day.

With senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jagadish Shettar agreeing to be the Speaker, after initially turning down the offer, it now remains to be seen whether he will be elected unopposed or whether there will be a contest.

Sources in the Congress said the party was seriously contemplating fielding a candidate, provided it struck an understanding with the Janata Dal (Secular). The two parties together have 108 members in the Assembly, while the BJP, with the support of six independents, has 116.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president M. Mallikarjun Kharge said the party had an open mind on fielding a candidate for the post of Speaker. Discussions would be held with party legislators during the legislature party meeting to be held on Wednesday. Based on the outcome of the discussions, the party would decide whether to approach the JD(S). But the concurrence of the party high command would be sought before that was done.

The former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said that given the JD(S) numbers in the Assembly, the party was not interested in fielding a candidate. Although discussions had not been held with the Congress in this connection, the party had an open mind on extending support if the Congress put up a candidate in an effort to exhibit the strength of the Opposition vis-À-vis the BJP.

The JD(S), meanwhile, is expected to choose the former Minister Umesh Katti as the leader of the legislature party when it meets on Wednesday.

Sources in the Congress said the view among State party leaders is that a candidate has to be fielded in order to convey to the people the wafer-thin majority that the BJP has in the Assembly. People are already aware that the BJP formed the government with the support extended by six independents, all of whom contested the elections as rebel candidates.

Governor Rameshwar Thakur, who had initially turned down the request of the BJP to address a joint session of the legislature on the opening day of the first session after the elections, has now agreed to address a joint session on Friday before the vote of confidence is held.

The Governor had earlier directed the Government to prove its majority within eight days of assuming office.

After a meeting with the Governor on Tuesday, Mr. Yeddyurappa said Mr. Thakur would address a joint session of the legislature at 12.15 p.m., following which he would seek a vote of confidence.

The Governor conveyed his decision to a delegation of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister on Tuesday morning. Mr. Yeddyurappa was invited to the Raj Bhavan for the purpose.

With this, the stalemate over the Governor’s address to a joint session has come to an end. Earlier, there was a difference of opinion between the Governor and the Government on the matter. While the BJP was of the view that the Governor should first address a joint session of the legislature, the Governor reportedly insisted that the joint session could be convened only after the Government proved its majority. The stand of the BJP has now been vindicated.

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