Karnataka coalition shaky: Two independents withdraw support

Bengaluru, Jan 15: Trouble seems to be brewing for the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka. Amidst the threat of some of its MLAs quitting, two independent MLAs have withdrawn support from the government.

The two independent MLAs, H Nagesh and R Shankar have withdrawn support to the government, thus bringing the number of the coalition down to 117. In the 224 member Karnataka Assembly the Congress has 80 MLAs, while the JD(S) has 37. The coalition also had the support of two MLAs before the resignations. The BJP on the other hand has 104 MLAs and in order to bring down the government, at least another 14 would have to resign to bring the house strength down to ensure that the BJP comes to power.

The MLAs, while tendering their resignation said that they had decided to withdraw power since the coalition had failed. I decided to withdraw support as there was no understanding between the coalition partners. I decided to go with the BJP for a stable government, Nagesh said.

It may be recalled that the BJP had moved its MLAs to a resort in Gurgaon. The BJP has accused the JD(S) and Congress of trying to poach its MLAs. On the other hand the BJP has been accused of trying to enforce another Operation Lotus. There are reports that five Congress MLAs are in Mumbai and are believed to be in touch with the BJP leadership.

The BJP also said that its lawmakers who are lodged in Gurgaon would also hold talks with regard to the Lok Sabha elections. The party also says that the coalition would collapse on its own and it did not need to anything to enforce that. There is a tussle between the Congress and JD(S) and they are trying to blame us for that mess, a party leader also informed.

Currently in the 224 member assembly, the Congress and JD(S) together have 118 MLAs as opposed to the 104 that the BJP has. In order to form the government, the BJP would need another 9 MLAs.

While all eyes would be on Delhi, there is also some action expected in Mumbai. Among the missing lawmakers, who are suspected to be in Mumbai are Ramesh Jarkiholi, Anand Singh, B Nagendra, Umesh Jadhav and B C Patil. While Jarkiholi is upset that he as dropped from the Cabinet, the others are angry about not being included in it.

In a bid to pacify these MLAs, Shivakumar is expected to travel to Mumbai today. Prior to attending the two day international conference on micro-irrigation in Aurangabad, he would be travel to Mumbai and is expected to hold talks with the MLAs.