The Karnataka impasse continued for another day with the Congress maintaining that they have the numbers.
As two independent MLAs H Nagesh and R Shankar, pulled in their support from the Congress-JD (S) government, the party sent its trouble-shooter DK Shivakumar to Mumbai to convince its four MLAs there to come back into the party fold. The JD leadership, on the other hand, called in all their MLAs to assemble in Bengaluru to avoid further trouble.
BJP leaders told reporters that the impasse is due to infighting between the Congress and the JD (s).
Sources in the party said that party leader BS Yeddyurappa held with the 104 MLAs is currently staying in Gurugram. He said that the party has four Congress MLAs with them, and are expecting two-three in the coming days. He also assured them that if the majority is proven, more than eight MLAs could switch sides. Sources said the MLAs celebrated Makar Sankranti in the evening and played cricket in the afternoon.
Sources in the BJP said that the central leadership of the party was not too keen on the resort politics, and wanted the state leadership to focus on highlighting failures of the Congress-JDS government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Yeddyurappa has a history of defying orders from New Delhi. The party has now decided to use the situation to justify PM Modi's "majboot-majboor sarkar" remark. The party feels that even if the Congress succeeds in keeping its flock together, the BJP can highlight the fracas.
Inside the Congress camp, state leadership were at loggerheads. Sources in the party's state unit said that the party was unhappy with state in-charge KC Venugopal and former CM Siddaramaiah. A state party leader said that independent MLA H Nagesh had asked to be accommodated as the chairman of any body — the BMTC, BESCOM etc, but was not given any position.
R Shankar, an independent who has close links to Siddaramaiah, was not given a plum position in the forest ministry.
Congress sources said that Shivakumar, who is said to have been touch with six-odd BJP MLAs, does not have amiable relations with Ramesh Jarkiholi. Along with him, Anand Singh, B Nagendra, Umesh Jadhav and B C Patil were said to be in Mumbai. The Congress and the JD (S) could send in their MLAs to a resort near Bengaluru on Wednesday if the situation worsens.
On Monday, CM HD Kumaraswamy held meetings with Shivakumar and deputy CM G Parmeshwar. On Tuesday again, party leaders KC Venugopal held meetings with senior party leaders. In the JDS, Kumaraswamy went in a huddle with HD Devegowda.
At the moment, to topple the government, in the 225-member Assembly, the BJP would need 13 MLAs to shift sides. Currently, with the two independents and four Congress MLAs, the BJP will need 6-7 to demand a floor test, or ask for the President's rule.
(With inputs by Saswat Panigrahi)
Independent MLAs H Nagesh and R Shankar have written to the Governor of Karnataka, Vajubhai Vala, conveying their decision to withdraw support from the Congress-JD(S) government with immediate effectThe two lawmakers wrote separate identical letters and sent it to the Governor
H Nagesh (left) wanted to be chairman of any body — the BMTC, BESCOM etc, but was not given any position. R Shankar (right), who has close links to Siddaramaiah, was not given a plum position in the forest ministry