Confident of winning confidence vote Thursday: Yeddyurappa

NEW DELHI - Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa Tuesday said he was confident of winning the fresh vote of confidence he would seek in the state assembly Thursday.

“I have been advised to seek a fresh vote of confidence on (October) 14th. I have asked the speaker to convene the house again. I am confident of winning the vote of confidence as I did on (October) 11th,” Yeddyurappa told reporters after he and other party legislators met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) core committee members in senior party leader L.K. Advani’s residence here.

Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj Tuesday asked Yeddyurappa to take the trust vote afresh Thursday as the confidence motion a day earlier was carried by a voice vote and it was vital to demonstrate proof of majority support in the house.

The BJP government in Karnataka has been in the thick of a crisis since 16 rebel legislators, including five independents, rebelled against the leadership of Yeddyurappa.

The governor Tuesday asking the chief minister to take a floor test afresh Thursday. His move followed a day of bedlam in the Karnataka assembly when Yeddyurappa’s vote of confidence was carried by voice vote, triggering vociferous criticism in and outside the house.