In a jolt to the seven-month-old Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka that could lead to a political showdown, two Independent legislators, R. Shankar and H. Nagesh, withdrew their support even as the whereabouts of three Congress MLAs were not known while opposition BJP MLAs were lodged in a luxury hotel in Gurugram.
The development came amid an ongoing political war between the coalition partners JD-S and Congress on the one hand and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the other over alleged poaching of Congress legislators by the BJP.
Though Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, his deputy G. Parameshwara and the Working President of state Congress claimed that there was no threat to the government, it could portend difficult days ahead for it as the nearly 100 MLAs of BJP stayed put in the hotel and remained incommunicado.
"I had extended support to the JD-S-Congress coalition expecting good governance but have been disappointed," Shankar told the media.
A legislator from Ranebennur Assembly segment in Haveri district, Shankar belongs to the regional Karnataka Pragnavantha Janata Party while Nagesh is an Independent from Mulbagal constituency in Kolar district.
The two Independents shared with the media their letter to Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R. Vala withdrawing their support to the coalition.
Senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, who is incharge of BJP affairs in Karnataka, told reporters in Bengaluru that he was confident of the Independents rethinking their decision.
"The Independents have every right to withdraw their support, but we're confident they will be with us," Venugopal said after a meeting with state unit Congress leaders.
Kumaraswamy was unfazed. "I know my strength. We are in touch, why do you worry," he asked journalists.
He was referring to the three Congress MLAs including Ramesh Jharkiholi, a senior leader who is now sulking after being dropped from the Cabinet recently.
Congress leader and Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara accused the BJP of trying to "topple" a "stable" government.
"The BJP is trying to sway the legislators with money power. Their aim is to topple the government, but we are confident of retaining our stability as we have the support of all our legislators," Parameshwara told the media in Bengaluru.
In the 225-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress has 80 MLAs including the Speaker, the JD-S 37 (117 in all) and the BJP 104.
While the BJP has denied the poaching allegations, it has kept 99 of its 104 legislators at a private resort in Gurugram, adjoining the national capital, state unit spokesman Vamanacharya said.
"A total of 99 legislators are currently at a private resort, while the other five are in Delhi and in touch with us," he told IANS here.
The hotel where the MLAs were put up remained out of bounds for journalists.
--IANS
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