Bengaluru: Ten rebel lawmakers of the Congress and three from HD Kumaraswamy’s Janata Dal Secular were disqualified by Karnataka Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar on Sunday – a day before the newly formed BJP government is expected to face a trust vote in the state assembly. All have been disqualified from the assembly till the end of its term.
The BJP had staked claim to power after the coalition government of the Congress and HD Kumaraswamy failed the trust vote last week.
The test of strength had taken place after 13 lawmakers of the Congress and three from the JDS resigned earlier this month and two Independent lawmakers who were supporting the government had switched sides.
On Thursday, the Speaker had disqualified three lawmakers. Sunday’s disqualifications bring down the strength of the House to 209, and the majority mark slides to 105 – a number the BJP currently has.
