Karnataka: Cong' calls for CLP meeting in Bengaluru

In view of the tumultuous political developments in Karnataka, Congress party's state unit has called for a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on May 29 in Bengaluru.

Along with senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Dinesh Gundu Rao, will also be present at the meeting.

Congress has 79 MLAs while Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) has 37 MLAs in the coalition government holding power in the state.

The JDS-Congress coalition which is in power in the state went through a rough patch during the campaigning of the recently held elections with leaders of both the parties accusing each other.

The tensions between the two parties benefitted the BJP which won 25 of the 28 MP seats in Karnataka while both JDS and Congress had to content itself with just one seat each. However, the Karnataka Congress unit had said that there was no threat to the coalition in the state.

The CLP meeting is reportedly being held to mitigate the differences between the two coalition partners and to assess whether its flock is intact amid speculation of defections.