As the counting of the votes continues, Congress which is on the lead has said that the MLA alone will decide the next chief minister of Karnataka. While Congress waits with bated breath to see if it crosses the halfway mark of 112 seats, it plans its next move. Meanwhile, Congress leader K Rahman Khan, said that the MLA alone will decide who will be the next CM, and that it depends on the preference of the MLA. He said that the Bajrang Bali issue has been turned on its head as no importance was given to it.
“The MLA who gives preference will be the next CM. Only MLA will decide who will be the next CM. Karnataka is not North India. You cannot play the communal card here. The issue of Bajrang Bali must have been turned upside down, no importance was given.”
When asked about Muslim reservations he said that it is under the purview of the Supreme Court.
“I will not say anything on Muslim reservation now, it is within the purview of the Supreme Court”, Khan said.
According to sources, Plan A is if Congress gets a clear majority, a new government will be formed as soon as possible. Under Plan B if there is no clear majority, MLAs will be taken to Hyderabad.
The counting of votes polled for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls, which witnessed a fierce fight between archrivals BJP and the Congress besides the JD(S), began on Saturday. Karnataka registered a "record" turnout of 73.19 per cent in the voting on May 10, to elect representatives to the 224-member Assembly.
The electoral fortunes of top leaders – Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP, Congress heavyweights Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, and JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy, among many others will be known today.
Congress workers were seen celebrating at the Delhi Headquarters office on Saturday, loud music was played while the party workers were dancing as Congress leads the count in early trends while BJP lags behind by around 30-40 seats.