Two Karnataka lawmakers withdrew support to the Congress-Janata Dal Secular coalition in the state on Tuesday, leaving the ruling partners with an even thinner cushion than the single-digit majority they had enjoyed since they joined hands for a post-election tie-up last year.
H. Nagesh, an Independent MLA, and R. Shankar, the lone member from the regional Karnataka Pragnavantha Janata Party, wrote to governor Vajubhai Vala saying they were withdrawing support to the coalition.
The jolt came just when the ruling coalition was trying to reach out to a few MLAs said to have been whisked away by the BJP to a hotel in Mumbai.
The allies, however, dismissed any threat to the stability of the government. “What will be the number if two MLAs withdraw support?” chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy countered when asked about Nagesh and Shankar.
The BJP has 104 MLAs in the 224-member Assembly, apart from the two who might support the party.
The Congress has 80 MLAs, including the Speaker, the JDS 37 and ally Bahujan Samaj Party, one. That totals 118 — five more than the majority mark of 113.
While the BJP had on Monday sequestered all its MLAs at a holiday resort in Gurgaon, there were talks in Bangalore about the ruling alliance considering a similar move. But no decision had been taken till evening.
Kumaraswamy said he was not worried about Tuesday’s development that came in the backdrop of hints from some BJP leaders about a “significant development” in Karnataka, which had been interpreted as a signal that an effort was on to break the Congress-JDS alliance.
“I am totally relaxed as I know what is my strength (numbers),” Kumaraswamy said.
But the JDS leader lost his cool after some Kannada channels suggested that his government would fall. “You can create whatever news you want. But I know where I stand,” he said after meeting K.C. Venugopal, the Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka.
No Congress leader was willing to reveal the number of MLAs who have gone incommunicado over the past few days. But the party did get a boost when one of the three MLAs suspected to have disappeared returned to the city and claimed he was still with the Congress.
“I won from Congress and I am in Congress,” Anand Singh, who was suspected to have ditched the party, said.
Singh denied that anyone from the BJP had reached out to him. “No one has contacted me from the BJP. I didn’t speak to anyone,” Singh, who later met Congress leaders, said.
But he pleaded ignorance about the whereabouts of his friend from Bellary, B. Nagendra, one of the missing legislators believed to have been taken to Mumbai.
Ramesh Jarkiholi is the other MLA among the three who were said to have been whisked away by the BJP.
Deputy chief minister G. Parameshwara confirmed that a fourth — Umesh Jadhav — had also been taken to Mumbai but did not mention any other name.
“We don’t know how many MLAs are in touch with them. But the BJP must realise that it’s getting exposed before the whole nation as a power-hungry party that will stoop to any level,” Parameshwara said.
“The BJP is luring our MLAs with money, power and all kinds of things. So definitely they are trying their best to topple this government. But they will not succeed,” he added.
Venugopal held several meetings with party leaders and the chief minister through the day. “It’s their ugly and dirty attempt to horse-trade that caused this situation. But we are sure that this government will last its term,” the AICC leader said.
A senior Congress functionary said the BJP was trying to force another election upon the state. “The BJP is playing a dirty game to pull down this government and push Karnataka into President’s rule and later call for state elections along with the Lok Sabha polls,” the leader said but asked not to be named.
