Mayawati Expels Lone BSP Karnataka MLA Who Abstained from Trust Vote, Flouted Party's Order

Bengaluru: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday expelled lone party MLA N Mahesh in Karnataka for "violating" the party's decision to vote in favour of the HD Kumaraswamy government that lost the trust vote in the assembly.

"By violating the party high command order to vote in favour of the Kumaraswamy government in Karnataka, BSP legislator N Mahesh was absent during the trust vote today, which is indiscipline and the party has considered it seriously," the BSP Supremo said in a tweet in Hindi. "Mahesh has been expelled from the party with immediate effect."

Mayawati on Sunday had directed Mahesh to vote in favour of the Kumaraswamy government after he had said that he would skip the trust vote in the absence of any clear instructions from the high command.

The BSP had contested the May 2018 assembly polls in a tie-up with JD(S), which in a post-election understanding joined hands with Congress to form the government following a fractured verdict.

Mahesh, the MLA from Kollegala, who was part of the Kumaraswamy cabinet as the Primary and Secondary Education Minister had in October 2018 quit his post citing personal reasons, but had said he would continue to support the ruling coalition.