Will Karnataka governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj ask chief minister Jagadish Shettar to face a floor test ahead of his maiden budget on February 8?
Sources said the issue of a trial of strength did not figure when Mr Shettar called on Mr Bhardwaj on Friday to invite him to address the joint session of the legislature on February 4. Their meeting was the first after 13 legislators announced their decision to quit their seats in the Assembly on January 23. The legislators submitted copies of their resignation letters to Mr Bhardwaj when they could not meet Speaker K.G. Bopaiah in his office in the Vidhana Soudha.
The sources pointed out that Mr Bhardwaj would formally write to Mr Shettar on moving a confidence motion only when the ruling party’s strength sinks below 104 in the Assembly.
Mr Bhardwaj, who spoke to mediapersons before his meeting with Mr Shettar, said, “If I feel that this government has been reduced to a minority, I will order Mr Shettar to prove his majority before transacting any business of the Houses.”