Karnataka budget: How the numbers are stacked up

Bengaluru, Feb 08: The drama in Karnataka continues and the moments ahead of the Budget are tense for the JD(S)-Congress government.

The question is will the missing Congress MLAs turn up and vote in favour of the budget. Ahead of the budget, the BJP said that the government did not have the numbers and this was promptly countered by the JD(S) and Congress.
In the midst of this, let us take a look at how the numbers are stacked up in the Karnataka legislative assembly.

The ruling coalition enjoys the support of 117 MLAs. 79 are from the Congress, 37, JD(S) and one from the BSP. This excludes the Speaker, Ramesh Kumar. The BJP on the other hand has the support of 104 MLAs.

In addition to this there are 2 independent MLAs, who recently broke away from the government. In all probability, they would vote against the finance bill if the BJP decides to insist on a decision of votes.

The big question is will the government be able to pass the budget. In such a scenario, the Speaker of the House would have a major role to play. Several fence sitters in the Congress, who continue to remain absent are not confident that the BJP will be able to rope in 18 MLAs in order to bring the government down.

Moreover the BJP is also aware that if it continues to disrupt proceedings in the House, the Speaker could suspend a few of its MLAs for a few days. In case this happens, the budget would pass through even if the BJP demands a diction for passing the budget.

In order to pass the finance or money bill, a simple majority is what is required.

The BJP would take into account various factors before it makes it move. It would need 18 MLAs to bring down the government. This looks like a tough job for now.