Kumaraswamy govt will come down in two days: Maha BJP minister

After two Independent MLAs in Karnataka withdrew support to the Congress-JD(S) alliance government, a Maharashtra BJP minister Tuesday said the Kumaraswamy-led dispensation will "come down" within two days.

Comments of Water Conservation, Protocol and OBC Minister Ram Shinde came amid a fresh political turmoil in the southern state.

"People of Karnataka had given the mandate in favour of BJP (in 2018 polls), but we fell short by some numbers (to form government). As the Congress-JD (S) alliance has been on a sticky wicket, there are indications that the (Kumaraswamy) government would come down in two days," he told reporters.

The two MLAs, H Nagesh (Independent) and R Shankar (KPJP), staying at a hotel in Mumbai, wrote to Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, conveying their decision to withdraw their support with immediate effect, which set off a political storm.

Karnataka Water Resource Minister D K Shivakumar had said that three Congress MLAs were camping at a hotel in Mumbai in the "company of some BJP leaders".

In the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, BJP has 104 members, Congress-79, JD(S) 37, BSP, KPJP and Independent one each, besides Speaker. BSP, KPJP and an Independent are supporting the coalition.

Referring to the outcome of last year's elections in Karnataka wherein the BJP had emerged as the single largest party, Shinde, a close associate of state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, said, "You cannot ignore the mandate of the people. BJP got the maximum votes but Congress' politics kept us away from power. Such arrangements don't work".

Amid reports of uncertainty over survival of his seven-month old government, Kumaraswamy has said his ministry was stable and he is "totally relaxed."