Bengaluru: As the longevity of the 13-month-old JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka remains highly uncertain, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who arrived in Bengaluru on Sunday evening, will soon hold a high-level meeting with the leaders of both the parties.
Kumaraswamy cut short his visit to the US and arrived here in a special chartered flight amidst the political turmoil following the resignation of multiple legislators from JDS and Congress.
The Karnataka CM is expected to chair a legislative meeting of the JD(S) this evening in order to discuss among other things the current crisis the coalition government is facing.
Senior leaders like Congress’ DK Shivakumar and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda held meetings to arrive at a resolution amid accusations of horse-trading against the BJP, media reports stated.
Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah alleged that the BJP was “behind” the defections, however he reiterated that the government was stable.
On Saturday, fourteen MLAs of the JD(S)-Congress alliance submitted their resignations to the Speaker, putting a question mark on the survival of the government.
If the resignations are accepted, the wobbly ruling coalition will lose majority in the 224-member Assembly as its strength will come down to 104.
The JD(S)-Congress coalition’s total strength, including those who have put in their papers, is 118 (Congress-78, JD(S)-37, BSP-1 and Independents-2), besides the Speaker.
The BJP has 105 MLAs in the House, where half-way mark is 113.