As Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators are in New Delhi for a meeting in preparation for the Lok Sabha polls, speculation is rife that the party is trying to woo MLAs from the ruling combine and topple the State government. The reported presence of a few disgruntled Congress MLAs, who have been incommunicado to their party leaders, in the national capital on Sunday further fuelled this talk.

Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru that there was a “serious conspiracy” to woo their MLAs and that party leaders were aware of what was being offered to MLAs to switch sides. “The MLAs have also told us of the overtures being made to them. Attempts at horse-trading are real. The BJP leaders have said there will be a change after Sankranti. But the government will be stable,” he said.

He added that three MLAs who had been to Delhi had returned and were now in Mumbai, indicating a numbers game between the ruling combine and the BJP. When asked about the identity of the MLAs, he said he would not disclose whether they were Congress MLAs or BJP MLAs.

However, sources close to BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa said nearly 20 MLAs were ready to resign and switch camps, and a crisis was likely to be precipitated in the coming week. BJP sources also said that this time — in a third attempt since May 2018 to form the government — the party’s Central leadership was involved and would take the final call on the matter, keeping the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in mind.

Meanwhile, an audio clip of Congress MLA Ganesh Hukkeri speaking to a journalist about defecting to the BJP led to further speculation that the government’s fate was uncertain. However, Mr. Hukkeri later claimed it was a light-hearted comment and he wouldn’t defect.

Several Ministers from the ruling combine, including Satish Jarkiholi, D.C. Thammanna, N.H. Shivashankar Reddy, and Venkataramanappa, denied reports of defection and claimed the BJP’s ‘Operation Kamala’ would fail and the government would remain stable.

Shah to meet BJP legislators today

BJP national president Amit Shah is scheduled to meet party legislators from the State on Monday morning to deliberate on preparations and a strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The meeting was originally scheduled for Sunday evening, but Mr. Shah did not turn up.

State in-charge P. Muralidhara Rao presided over a meeting of BJP legislators along with party State president B.S. Yeddyurappa instead. Stressing the ‘Mera Booth Sabse Mazboot’ campaign, Mr. Rao said the national leadership had set a clear task for the party cadre — to concentrate on the booths and work to get 51% of the votes. To this end, they have to get at least five new voters in every booth to enrol as a member of the party. The meeting had an agenda of 26 points, including details of rallies and Shaktikendra Samaveshas to be held during the campaign.

At Monday’s meeting, each Lok Sabha constituency is likely to be discussed threadbare and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign rallies deliberated upon.