Karnataka crisis: Congress begins backchannel talks to win back rebel MLAs

Sources in JD(S) said Kumaraswamy is in direct talks with at least four Congress legislators, who have resigned, and was hopeful that they would withdraw their resignation

As the political imbroglio continued in Karnataka, Senior Congress leaders Saturday began backchannel negotiations to persuade the disgruntled MLAs, who have resigned from the Assembly, dealing a blow to the coalition government.

A day after Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy made a surprise announcement in the Assembly that he would seek a trust vote, efforts were intensified to reach out to the dissident legislators.

Congress's troubleshooter and Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar reached the residence of Housing Minister M T B Nagaraj at about 5 AM and camped there for almost four-and-a-half hours, trying to pacify him.

According to reports, Deputy Chief