Rebel MLA Nagaraj with Congress leader Siddaramaiah and CM Kumaraswamy. (Source: ANI)
Karnataka crisis LIVE news update: In a breather to the beleaguered Congress-JDS government, rebel MLA MTB Nagaraj said that he has decided to stay back in the Congress. “I had given resignation from MLA’s post. All the leaders are asking me to stay in Congress since morning. I have decided to stay in the party,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
Hectic negotiations had been going on at Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah’s residence to placate Nagaraj. ” We will try to convince Chikkaballapur MLA K Sudhakar and both of us will take our resignation back,” Nagaraj added.
Earlier in the day, state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa made it clear that his party will press Kumaraswamy to seek trust vote in the Assembly on Monday, asserting that the Congress-JD(S) coalition government has lost majority and its collapse was imminent.
As the crisis that threatens the survival of the 13-month-old government stretched into the eighth day, five more rebel Karnataka Congress MLAs approached the Supreme Court today, saying that the Speaker was not accepting their resignations. The MLAs also alleged that they “are being forced to support the government on the threat of disqualification”. If all the resignations are accepted, the coalition’s numbers in the 224-member House will fall to 101 compared to the BJP’s 105 MLAs and the support of two Independents. The BJP can win a confidence vote if at least 11 resignations are accepted.
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. (File)
Ahead of the floor test, Karnataka Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddharamaiah said, " we will get most of the MLAs when the vote of confidence is moved."
" We will try to convince Chikkaballapur MLA Sudhakar and both of us will take our resignation back," said Nagaraj.
Nagaraj is a wealthy landholder in real-estate businessman and one of the richest MLAs in Karnataka. A member of OBC Kuruba community, he is considered a close aide of Siddaramaiah. He had earlier threatened to rebel against the coalition last year and was inducted into the state cabinet in December 2018 at the instance of Siddaramaiah. Read : Karnataka’s 16 rebel MLAs: Who they are
On coming out from Siddaramaiahs house, Nagaraj said, "Negotiations are going on. He (Siddaramaiah) has spoken good things." Asked whether he has changed his mind, he said: "We all are trying for it only." Later, Nagaraj returned to Siddaramaiah's residence, where chief minister H D Kumaraswamy joined the negotiations.
Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy meets rebel Congress MLA MTB Nagaraj at Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah's residence in Bengaluru. Congress leader Zameer Ahmed khan also present.
Sources in JD(S) said Kumaraswamy is in direct talks with at least four Congress legislators, who have resigned, and is hopeful that they would withdraw their resignation, reported PTI
Fourteen rebel MLAs from Karnataka, who have been camping in Mumbai since the last week, Saturday headed to Shirdi. The rebel legislators of the Congress-JD(S) will pay obeisance to Saibaba at the temple in Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. "The MLAs left for Shirdi in a private plane. They will return later in the day," sources said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath is expected to be in Bangaluru on Sunday in an effort to woo back the rebel MLAs to its fold ahead of a possible trial of strength in the Karnataka assembly, news agency ANI reported.
Two Independent MLAs, who recently withdrew support to the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka and sided with the BJP, have written to the Assembly speaker requesting him to allot them seats on the opposition side in the House. In separate letters to the speaker, both H Nagesh (Mulabagilu MLA) and R Shankar (Ranebennur MLA) stated that they had withdrawn support to the ruling coalition and requested him to make seating arrangements for them on the opposition side in the Assembly. The monsoon session of the Karnataka Assembly began on Friday and is scheduled to end on July 26.
A day after Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy sought a trust vote in the floor of the Assembly, BJP president BS Yeddyurappa Saturday said that they are ready to face the no-confidence motion. “We have no objection to no-confidence motion. We will wait until Monday. On Monday, we are ready to face the no-confidence Motion,” said Yeddyurappa. Read more