BENGALURU: The upcoming trust vote which will decide the fate of the coalition government might have the Congress and the JDS making frantic preparations, but the opposition BJP seems to be unperturbed, terming the exercise a mere formality.

While the Congress has its hopes pegged on winning back enough MLAs to carry the government through, developments in the last 24-hours have made this highly unlikely, giving the BJP the upper hand.

MLAs M T B Nagaraj and K Sudhakar giving party leaders the slip and joining the rebel group has boosted the morale of the splinter group as well as the BJP.

“The government has been reduced to a minority and will lose the trust vote on Thursday. No one, including the common man, wants this government as it is a liability to the state and its development,” said BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa on Monday.

Meanwhile, the MLAs have also sought more time to appear before the Speaker in the hope that the government will lose the trust vote on Thursday.