Ahead of Trust Vote, Where Does the Karnataka Crisis Stand

Ahead of the trust vote in the Karnataka Assembly, scheduled on Thursday, 18 July, experts suggest that the situation in the state is rife with various possibilities and to be certain about a certain scenario is not possible.

Speaking to BloombergQuint, Krishna Prasad, political analyst and former Editor-in-Chief of Outlook said, “Nothing can be said for sure at this moment, to the extent that whether the trust vote will even be conducted or not.”

He speculated that the Congress-JD(S) government would try to delay the trust vote.

“JD(S) has produced evidences to suggest the possibility that the trust vote can be delayed,” he said, adding that the sitting government does appear to be on thin ice.

Narendra Pani, Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, also echoed similar views over the situation, saying that all possible scenarios are on the table.

“It's a wide open scenario even if the BJP wins,” he said suggesting that in the event of the BJP grabbing power, it too might not cobble up majority in the Assembly.\

“What happens tomorrow, will also decide if the Supreme Court decides to increase the scope of anti-defection law,” he opined.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court said 15 rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs in Karnataka "ought not" to be compelled to participate in the proceedings of the ongoing session of the state Assembly and an option should be given to them as to whether they wanted to take part or stay out of it.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar will decide on the resignation of the 15 MLAs within such time-frame as considered appropriate by him.

The bench, also comprising justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, said the speaker's discretion in deciding on the MLAs' resignations should not be fettered by the court's directions or observations and he should be left free to decide the issue.

The apex court also said the speaker's decision be placed before it.