In a dramatic twist, once the poorest MLA in Karnataka, Congress’ re-elected MLA from Maski, with a vote margin of just 213 votes, has gone ‘missing’. As reported by The News Minute, Pratapgouda Patil has slipped out of Congress’ hands and taken a flight out of HAL airport, possibly a private jet, and flown off to an undisclosed location.
The report says that Patil never boarded the bus to Eagleton resort where the Congress MLAs were holed up last night, and has since been untraceable. Patil is the second confirmed MLA who has reportedly defected to the BJP.
Anand Singh, MLA-elect from Vijaynagara, who was once a BJP minister in Karnataka, had only defected to Congress in January to get a seat for the Assembly elections. Eventually, after the results were declared, Singh did not turn up for the Legislature Party meeting and by evening it was reportedly confirmed that he had switched sides to the BJP.
BJP’s Yeddyurappa took oath today morning at 9 am as the 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka after Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala invited him to form the government and prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly in 15 days.