Crisis in Karnataka BJP intensifies, Rift widens

More MLAs join rebel group, shift base to Kolkata

The ongoing political crisis in Karnataka’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unit is becoming more and more interesting.

Just as BJP managed to get one rebel MLA back into its fold, the rebel group had its share of victory with one MLA joining its camp.

Also, the cracks in the party further widened with three more MLAs holding discussions with JD(S) President Kumarawamy this afternoon.

Shankaralinge Gowda, a ruling party MLA from the Chamaraja constituency who was neither supporting the ruling party nor the rebels till yesterday, today decided to go with the latter. He was taken away by Chaluvarayaswamy, a member of Parliament from JD(S), to Goa in a helicopter. With this, the chances of BJP winning the trust vote on October 11 have further weakened.

About 13 out of the 14 rebel BJP MLAs, who were camping in Goa, have left for Kolkata to avoid succumbing to BJP’s pressure to vote for the BS Yeddyurappa government

One of the rebels, Renukacharya, has, meanwhile, alleged that the 13 rebels have got Rs 20-25 crore each from Kumaraswamy, the state president of JD(S), to topple the government. But Kumaraswamy, who returned to Bangalore from Goa, denied he had the support of the dissident MLAs. “I only came here to take rest...I am 100 per cent confident they will fail the floor test,” Kumaraswamy said in Goa.

Chief Minister Yeddyurappa today offered prayers at the Lakhshminarasimha Swamy temple and said he was confident of winning the trust vote. “I am confident the rebel MLAs will return to the city today and I will win the vote of confidence,” he told reporters.

H D Kumaraswamy, who has become a rallying point for a section of the BJP dissidents, returned to the city today and declared “my Mission Goa has been successful”, indicating there is no change in the resolve of the dissidents to vote against the BJP government.

Opposition Congress leader in the state assembly, Siddaramaiah, accompanied by KPCC President R V Deshpande, met Governor H R Bhardwaj to discuss the political situation. The Congress has been expressing apprehensions over Speaker K G Bopaiah conducting the session in a fair manner and has urged the governor to appoint observers to oversee the conduct of business on Monday, when Yeddyurappa faces the floor test.