Karnataka Election Results 2018: After alliance with JD(S), here's how Congress can snatch victory from jaws of defeat

BS Yeddyurappa, Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy

Till an hour ago, the BJP government was all set to form the government. Early leads had put the saffron party across the magic mark of 113, and celebrations had begun across the country.

However, there is a twist in the tale. Leads for the BJP have now dropped to 104, and the Congress-JD(S) combine stands at 116.

Incumbent CM Siddaramaiah, along with senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, addressed a press conference where they announced that they would offer support to JD(S) in forming the government. Who sits on the coveted CM's chair will also be decided by the HD Deve Gowda-led party. Siddaramaiah is slated to resign at 4pm, while Ghulam Nabi Azad has sought an appointment with Governor Vajubhai Vala to stake claim for the government.

"The people's mandate is clear that JD(S) should be in the government. Congress has offered Kumaraswamy to be the CM and we have accepted it," said Tanveer Ahmed, spokesperson of the JD(S), thus confirming the alliance.

BS Yeddyurappa also addressed a press meet, where he said he would talk to senior leaders and then make a decision. BJP President Amit Shah has rushed senior leaders like Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goyal, JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan to Bengaluru to take stock of the situation.

What are the rules?

According to the rulebook, Governor Vajubhai Vala should call the single largest party (which, in this case, is the BJP) or pre-poll alliance to form the government.

He should then ask them to prove their prove their majority on the floor of the house within a stipulated time.

If they fail the trust vote, then the Governor can ask the next biggest formation to take up the ropes.

Are post-poll alliances allowed?

A post-poll alliance (which here is the Congress-JDS alliance) does not count and cannot be called to form the government ahead of the single largest party, according to the rulebook.

However, Congress may try and argue their way out of this since the BJP has done just the same during the Goa and Manipur assembly elections.

Catch the latest news, views and analysis on Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018