K’taka CLP meeting on headcount today

Ramakrishna Upadhya
Bengaluru, January 17

Even as the Karnataka BJP appears to have temporarily aborted its “Operation Lotus 2.0” to lure disgruntled Congress MLAs to its side, the Congress Legislature Party will be meeting here on Friday for take a headcount of its flock and to isolate those still hobnobbing with the BJP.

At least five Congress MLAs, led by former minister Ramesh Jarkhiholi, are holed up in a five-star hotel on the outskirts of Mumbai for the past one week, being the ‘guests’ of Maharashtra PWD Minister Chandrakanth Patil. Whether they will travel back to Bengaluru in time for the CLP meeting remains to be seen. Already, CLP leader Siddaramaiah has issued a warning that those who skip the meeting will face disciplinary action.

Fearing reverse poaching by the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka, state BJP legislators (104 in all) have been lodged at a luxury resort in Gurugram, Haryana. They have been there for the past six days. Only three seniors led by BS Yeddyurappa left for Bengaluru today to call on revered Lingayat pontiff of the Siddaganga Mutt, who is seriously ill.

The Congress-JD(S) coalition suffered a setback on Wednesday with two Independent MLAs — R Shankar and H Nagesh — writing to the Governor and withdrawing their support to the Kumaraswamy government, declaring they would go with the BJP. However, there is no immediate threat to the government which still has 118 members on its side in a House of 224.

The BJP needs at least six MLAs to resign their seats to reduce the government to a minority. Unlike in 2008, when the BJP government led by Yeddyurappa got 8 JD(S) and Congress MLAs to quit and re-contest on the BJP symbol, “Operation Lotus” this time is not going to be easy.

Ramesh Kumar, the Speaker (from the Congress) could simply stall the process by indefinitely withholding his consent to the letters of resignation.

Apparently, the central leadership of the BJP is not too keen on bringing down the coalition immediately and forming an alternative government for the fear of it having an adverse impact on the upcoming LS polls. But, it seems, they wouldn’t mind giving it periodic shocks to keep it on the tenterhooks and demonstrate its ‘instability.’

More Congress MLAs return, pledge loyalty

• Ahead of the CLP meeting on Friday, more Congress MLAs allegedly under the BJP radar for desertion, returned home, giving the Karnataka coalition government hope of averting a crisis
• BJP state chief BS Yeddyurappa said his party MLAs were also flying back from Gurugram. Yellapur MLA Shivram Hebbar, who met the KPCC chief, said he had gone to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with his family. He termed the timing as “coincidence”. 
• Another Congress MLA JN Ganesh from Kampli termed reports that he had planned to switch to BJP as “false”. PTI