Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday termed the collapse of the three-day-old B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka a "victory of the people's mandate" and asked the central government to resign on moral grounds.

An emotional Yeddyurappa resigned as chief minister of the southern state without facing a trust vote, ordered by the Supreme Court on a petition by the Congress and JD(S) challenging Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision inviting the BJP to form the government.

"Today, the people's mandate has prevailed over money power," Yadav wrote on Twitter in Hindi.

"Those who thought they could buy everyone has learnt the lesson that there are still people left who don't consider politics a business," he tweeted.

"The central government should also resign on moral grounds," he added.

Jubilant scenes were witnessed at the Congress office here after Yeddyurappa resigned as Karnataka chief minister.

Senior Congress leader Pramod Tewari and his daughter Aradhana Misra, who is an MLA, distributed sweets among party workers.

"It's a victory of democracy," Tewari said.

Yeddyurappa's resignation will pave the way for the formation of a government led by JD(S) state chief H D Kumaraswamy, who has the backing of the Congress. The newly formed alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221.

Polling for two seats was not held due to various reasons, while Kumaraswamy won from two places.