#BookanakereSiddalingappaYediyurappa

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Karnataka: Yediyurappa takes oath as CM, changes his spelling

Bengaluru: Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on Friday night and he has several hurdles to clear in the coming days. Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to 76-year-old Yediyurappa in the Glass House of Raj Bhavan in the presence of top BJP leaders. Yediyurappa, who took oath alone and in the name of God, is expected to expand his Ministry after the Vote of Confidence on July 29. In a departure of sorts, outgoing Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah stayed away from the swearing-in function, saying that it was undemocratic and unconstitutional government as it did not enjoy the majority in the Assembly. The Congress had openly asked its legislators to stay away from the swearing-in ceremony. Kumaraswamy government lost the Confidence Vote on Tuesday last. Yediyurappa, who staked his claim to form the government on Friday morning following clearance from Party President Amit Shah, is a firm believer in numerology and astrology. One of the first things the fourth time Chief Minister did was to change his name from Yeddyurappa to Yediyurappa, which was his original spelling. However, he had changed the spelling some 10 years ago on the advice of numerologists as he was facing troubles during his first innings as the head of the government in the state. Though he had fixed the swearing-in between 6-615 PM, he delayed it by a few minutes as some astrologers had predicted trouble for him if he took oath in the appointed time slot. This was ridiculed by Congress leaders and many people. “What can you expect from a person who is superstitious,” was the refrain. Yediyurappa’s claims that he would not resort to witch-hunting had few takers as he has ordered a review of all major decisions taken in the last one month. The Chief Minister also claimed that he would follow “forget and forgive” policy. Leaders knowing him well say that the words lack conviction. Political observers feel that the government may not last long considering the current political scenario. They think that the BJP may resort to horse-trading and that would open a new front for problems like in the BJP’s first innings in the state. The first-ever BJP government in the South had three chief ministers. Yediyurappa, who chaired the customary Cabinet meeting, told media persons that he will seek Vote of Confidence on July 29. He is expected to sail through it with 14 rebel legislators indicating that they would not attend the House. In a big relief to him, they “celebrated” the oath-taking of Yediyurappa. They are expected to return only on Monday evening after the Trust vote. The BJP, which has been openly saying that it had no role in the rebellion in the coalition, had despatched senior leader R Ashoka to shepherd the dissident legislators. Television channels were beaming pictures of them in Mahalakshmi Temple in Kolhapur in Maharashtra. With the disqualification of three legislators, the strength of the House has come down to 221 and the BJP has 105 members, still seven short of the half-way mark. One independent has openly supported the BJP. The Assembly is expected to pass the Finance Bill on the same day as the administration needs money for its functioning. If he proves his majority, the Finance Bill, which involves voting, will also go through without any hitch. Another major headache for him will be dealing with Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar, who was elected on a Congress ticket. The Speaker, who is expected to be apolitical, can be his Achilles heel as he has to decide on the resignation of 13 rebel legislators and disqualification of another Congress MLA. His removal process is also lengthy. It has to be seen how Yediyurappa is going to handle the situation. The Chief Minister is expected to face stormy times as there are a large number of ministerial aspirants. Also, he would have to accommodate the rebels, who helped the BJP in bringing down the coalition government, headed by Kumaraswamy. But the BJP High Command, which has been keeping a close eye on the developments in the state from the beginning of this month, is very strong and can take firm decisions. Yediyurappa is not expected to have a free hand in the ministry formation. “Everything will be decided in Delhi,” a senior leader said. It is a virtual throwback to the Congress High Command culture in its heydays a couple of decades ago when that party was very strong and decisions were taken in the national Capital. In the first Cabinet meeting, Yediyurappa took two major decisions-- to distribute funds to farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana and waive weavers loans. In a development that could warm the cockles of Yediyurappa’s heart is that many JD(S) leaders are veering around the idea of impressing Kumaraswamy to extend support to the current dispensation. With the Congress keen on dumping the alliance with the JD(S), they are exploring this route. Will that happens, is beyond anybody’s guess. Karnataka Yediyurappa takes oath as CM, changes his spelling. http://rajkaran.com/karnataka-yediyurappa-takes-oath-as-cm-changes-his-spelling/ Read the full article