Yediyurappa moves confidence motion in the Assembly

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday moved a confidence motion seeking to prove majority of his three-day old government in the state Assembly.

Facing an Assembly with a truncated strength, Yediyurappa moved a one-line motion that said the House expresses confidence in the Ministry headed by him.

In his remarks, Yediyurappa said he would not indulge in "politics of vengeance" and believed in the "forget and forgive principle." He said the administrative machinery had collapsed and his priority was to bring it back on track.

The BJP is expected to have a smooth sail with the trust vote, as the disqualification of 17 rebel MLAs by the Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Sunday has reduced the effective strength of the 225-member Assembly to 208.

The magic figure for simple majority is 105, equivalent to the strength of the BJP, which also commands the support of an Independent.

The Congress has 66 members, JDS 34, the Speaker one (who has a casting vote in case of a tie) and one expelled BSP member who was thrown out of the party for violating its directive to vote for the H D Kumaraswamy government during the trust vote on July 23.