40 rooms booked at Candolim resort ,CLP meeting on May 29
LOUIS RODRIGUES
BELAGAVI
A group of about 10 Karnataka MLAs, led by rebel Gokak Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, are expected to be holed up at a starred hotel and a private villa in Candolim, amid growing political crisis in Karnataka with BJP’s attempts to topple the Congress-led government once Narendra Modi is sworn in as prime minister.
The political crisis unfolded after former MLA Dr Umesh Jadhav had resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP. He contested the recent Lok Sabha polls and had defeated senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.
The disgruntled Gokak Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was recently sacked as minister, had felicitated Dr Jadhav on Saturday and on Sunday, went to meet former Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna, who had joined the BJP last year, and BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa.
Jarkiholi has already indicated intentions to resign as Congress MLA.
The 10 Karnataka MLAs led by Jarkiholi are expected to be holed up at a starred hotel and a private villa in Candolim,
According to reports, about 40 rooms have been booked at a starred hotel and a private villa for Congress-JDS MLAs, who were expected to arrive at any moment, to trigger plans by BJP to topple the coalition government in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Umesh Katti exuded confidence that a BJP government would come to power in Karnataka within a week.
Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, Katti said: “I am 100 per cent confident that our government will come to power within a week. The coalition government in the state has no moral right to continue in power in wake of the thumping victory of BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.”
Amid coalition worries, the Congress, a partner in the ruling alliance in Karnataka, has convened a meeting of its legislature party on Wednesday to discuss the current political developments in the state.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of the rout of the Congress-JD(S) alliance in the Lok Sabha polls and simmering discontent within the party.
CLP leader Siddaramaiah, in a letter to party legislators, including members of the legislative council, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, said the meeting would be held at a hotel here on May 29 at 6 pm to discuss the current political
developments.
“All MLAs should be present at the meeting without fail and give valuable suggestions,” it said, adding that Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, Pradesh Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao, among others, would be present.
In its worst ever electoral performance in Karnataka, Congress won just one out of 21 seats it contested in the Lok Sabha polls, while JD(S) too won just one out of the seven seats it had fought.
Reflecting the coalition’s sorry state, several stalwarts including former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, veteran Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Veerappa Moily, K H Muniyappa among others were defeated.
The alliance’s humiliating defeat in the LS polls, which saw BJP winning 25 of the 28 seats, is widely expected to have a bearing on the stability of the Kumaraswamy government.
As voices emerged in the Congress to end the alliance, blaming the JDS partnership for their disastrous performance, Kumaraswamy had offered to resign, following which the cabinet met on Friday and reposed its “faith and confidence” in his leadership, asserting that the coalition would continue.
