Karnataka Bypolls Deferred Till Top Court Decides On Disqualified MLAs6Photo© hindustantimes.com

Karnataka Bypolls Deferred Till Top Court Decides On Disqualified MLAs

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By-elections on 15 assembly seats in Karnataka -- where the MLAs were disqualified earlier this year for rebelling and bringing down the earlier Congress-JDS government - will be deferred. The Election Commission today told the Supreme Court that it has decided to postpone the election so the Court can take a call on the petitions of the disqualified MLAs who have challenged the Speaker's decision.

The by-elections were expected to be held on October 21 and the results were due by October 24.

By-elections were supposed to be held in the state if the court decided to uphold the disqualifications. But last week, the Commission announced the by-elections, setting the date along with the state elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

The MLAs were disqualified in July by then Speaker K R Ramesh when they resigned, allowing the BJP to challenge the 14-month-old coalition government of the Congress and HD Kumaraswamy's Janata Dal Secular, and stake claim to power.