Video Editor: Vishal Kumar
1. Karnataka Throws Up a Hung Verdict, Governor to Decide Its Fate
The Karnataka Assembly elections witnessed a dramatic turnaround on Tuesday, 15 May, with the BJP falling short of the majority mark of 112 seats, and the Congress and the JD(S) staking claim to form the government after announcing an alliance. The BJP also met the Governor and have sought a week's time to prove their majority in the Assembly.
The fate of Karnataka now rests with the Governor.
While the BJP won 104 seats, the Congress and JD(S) pocketed 78 and 37 seats respectively.
Follow all the live updates on the Karnataka elections drama here.
2. Whom Should Karnataka Governor Invite to Form Govt – BJP or Cong+JD(S)?
Is there any law which should decide what happens now in Karnataka?
There is no hard and fast set of rules which says who should be invited to form a state government. The Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, all of these are silent on the exact process.
As a result, to see what should be done in Karnataka, where no single party has the requisite majority, we have to look at convention, and the decisions of the courts.
Read the full story here.
3. In Hung House, Who Says BJP Man Vajubhai Won’t Help Party Again?
The Karnataka verdict is out, and in line with the exit polls, the masses have delivered a hung verdict. However, it is only marginally hung and not severely. As of now, BJP is leading with 104, Congress is at 78, JD(S) is at 38 (including BSP) and Others is at two. In terms of vote share, BJP is at 36.2 percent, Congress is at 37.9 percent, and JDS + BSP is at 18.8 percent.
As per news reports, Congress has extended support to former Prime Minister Deve Gowda’s son Kumaraswamy as CM candidate, to prevent a mishap like in Goa and Manipur. The ball is now in Governor Vajubhai Vala’s court.
As per news reports, senior leaders of Congress Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot were already in touch with Deve Gowda since 15 May morning. Gowda had earlier categorically stated that he would not support BJP at any cost. While JD(S) has performed better than the polls predicted, its tally and vote share are lower than the 2013 elections.
Read the full story here.
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