Karnataka: Can we go home, MLAs ask, not yet says Cong-JD(S)

There is no end in sight for resort politics in Karnataka. The MLAs who have been carted around from one place to another for the past week thought that they could go home after B S Yeddyurappa stepped down as chief minister without facing the trust vote.

However both the Congress and JD(S) have not allowed their MLAs to return home. They would have to wait till the floor test is complete and only then would be allowed to return home.

On Saturday after Yeddyurappa resigned, many MLAs would have hoped to go home. The parties had in fact taken a call to allow the MLAs to go back home on Sunday. However at the last minute there was a change in decision and the MLAs were asked to stay back and get into the resorts.

Both parties felt that it was too risky to let them out of sight as there was still a possibility of the BJP trying to poach the MLAs. The Congress MLAs have been kept at a hotel in Bengaluru, while the ones from the JD(S) have been holed up at one in Devanahalli.

The MLAs have been in resorts ever since the results were declared on May 15. They have even been taken to a resort in Hyderabad a day before Yedyurappa was to face the trust vote. In a complete show of strength, both parties ensured that none of their MLAs switched sides.