Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa was on Friday sworn in as Karnataka Chief Minister.
Yediyurappa, who had earlier on Friday staked his claim three days after the H D Kumaraswamy-led JD-S-Congress government fell, was administered the oath by Governor Vajubhai Vala at the Raj Bhavan in a ceremony boycotted by the Opposition. No other minister was sworn-in with him.
The 75-year-old leader from the politically dominant Lingayat community becomes chief minister for the fourth time.
He became the BJP's first chief minister in south India in November 2007.
He had earlier said that since he was the Leader of the Opposition, there was no need to call the legislature party meeting before the swearing-in ceremony.
The BJP in Karnataka had been waiting for directions from the central leadership, specifically from Amit Shah, after the resignation of former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday.
Yediyurappa, 76, is the senior-most BJP leader in Karnataka. Though he became chief minister three times before, he could not complete full term thus far. He was sworn in as chief minister immediately after the previous Assembly election in May 2018. But the stint lasted just 48 hours as he resigned a few hours before the trust vote.
Floor test on Monday
Meanwhile, the newly sworn-in chief minister said he would move the motion of confidence in the assembly on July 29.
"The Karnataka assembly session will be called on July 29, Monday, at 10 AM for moving confidence motion and for the passage of the finance bill," Yediyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters after holding cabinet meeting here, he said the legislative council would begin its proceedings on July 30.
Congress-JD(S) boycott
The Congress and Janata Dal(S) leaders decided to boycott the swearing-in ceremony.
"Our party's state President Dinesh Gundu Rao has directed our leaders, former ministers and legislators to boycott Yediyurappa's oath-taking ceremony as chief minister, as he has no moral right to assume power when his party does not have the majority in the Assembly," Congress spokesman Ravi Gowda said.
Noting that the swearing-in of Yediyurappa as chief minister was unethical and unconstitutional, based on horse trading and corrupt methods, Rao said the BJP forming the next government in the state was a blot on democracy.
No end in sight to political drama
The Kumaraswamy government resigned on Tuesday after 17 'rebel' MLAs voted against the confidence motion.
A day later, Speaker KR Ramesh disqualified three of them - Congress's Ramesh Jarkiholi and Mahesh Kumathahalli and independent legislator R Shankar - who pulled out of the previous government to support the BJP.
The three lawmakers could not contest election till the state Assembly is dissolved. The Speaker's ruling may adversely affect BJP's plans to get simple majority in the Assembly.
The speaker's ruling was a jolt to the legislators, who are expected to join the BJP and contest in the ensuing by-elections as its nominees.
Political analyst in Karnataka, A Narayana, has pointed that BJP will get a majority in the 224-member Assembly if eight of them get re-elected. "In the event of the coalition partners winning a majority of the seats in by-elections, the state will plunge into a fresh round of political instability," he wrote on Onmanorama recently.