Getting past disqualification is first hurdle for rebel MLAs

BENGALURU: The fate of 15 rebel MLAs — 12 from the Congress and three from JD(S) — hangs in the balance after the fall of Karnataka’s H D Kumaraswamy government as Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar is yet to decide on their resignations as well as their parties’ pleas to disqualify them.

Most of them nurse aspirations of becoming ministers in the new BJP government to be led by B S Yeddyurappa, but they will have to cross the hurdle of the Speaker’s court first. Yeddyurappa perhaps had promised at least a few of them ministerships and he would be under pressure to keep that promise.

BJP sources said Yeddyurappa is waiting for the central leadership’s nod to assume office and he is likely to accommodate at least five rebel MLAs and five from BJP in the first phase of ministry making. In any case, he will have to handle disgruntlement as the list of ministerial aspirants in his party is long: at least 30 are former ministers.


Yeddyurappa also has to find place for the two Independents — H Nagesh and R Shankar — who were ministers in Kumaraswamy’s cabinet. Shankar is also facing disqualification under the antidefection law as he was an associate member of Congress.

“The disqualification petitions were tendered to the Speaker prior to them submitting their resignations in the proper format,” said P R Ramesh, senior MLC and Congress Legislature Party secretary.

In either case, the rebels have to be re-elected to the assembly or the council in order to become ministers. According to Article 165 of Schedule 10 of the Constitution, legislators disqualified for defection are not barred from contesting the immediate next election. But they cannot be ministers unless they are re-elected.

“We are confident that all of them will win and return to the assembly,” said BJP general secretary N Ravikumar. BJP sources said the party is exploring options of getting a stay order if they are disqualified in order to induct them into the cabinet immediately.