Bengaluru: Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief BS Yeddyurappa on Tuesday met Governor Vajubhai Vala and staked claim to form the government, countering a move of the Congress-JDS combine which he slammed as an attempt to come back to power through the back door.
"BJP has emerged as the single largest party, we have requested the governor to give us an opportunity to prove our majority on the floor of the assembly," Yeddyurappa told reporters after meeting Vala along with Union minister Ananth Kumar.
Not willing to comment on JD(S)-Congress alliance, he said "....we have staked claim to form the government. We have said we will prove our majority in the assembly, give us an opportunity."
The move by Yeddyurappa came soon after JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy wrote to the governor informing him about his decision to accept the Congress' support extended to his party to form the government.
In a dramatic twist, the Congress offered support to the JDS-led by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda to form a government as the assembly polls appeared to throw up a hung verdict.
Earlier, Yeddyurappa accused the Congress of trying to subvert the popular mandate and come back to power through the back door by offering support to JDS to form the government.
Yeddyurappa said the people of the state had rejected the Siddaramaiah government "lock, stock and barrel" and given a mandate for change.
"The people had given a mandate for a Congress-mukt Karnataka," the BJP strongman told reporters shortly after the Congress offered support to JDS.
Yeddyurappa said there was anti-incumbency against the Siddaramaiah government and the Chief Minister himself had suffered a "pathetic defeat" in his home constituency of Chamundeshwari.
He said the party "condemns the devious means being adopted by the Congress."
"...the Congress is trying to subvert the popular mandate and come back to power through the back door. People of Karnataka will never accept this," he said.
