Two independent MLAs, H Nagesh and R Shankar, have withdrawn their support from the Karnataka government. In their individual letters to the Governor of the state, the MLAs stated, “I would like to bring to your kind attention, that I am withdrawing my support extended to the coalition government in Karnataka headed by Congress & JDS parties with immediate effect.”
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Shankar said that he wanted a change in the government on Makar Sankranti. He added that the government should be efficient.
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Nagesh said that the coalition government had utterly failed in providing a stable government. He further claimed that there was no understanding between the coalition partners. He cited these reasons to go with the BJP.
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As we have reported earlier, rumours of ‘Operation Lotus’ have been doing the rounds recently. DK Sivakumar had alleged that the BJP was indulging in ‘horse-trading’ and looking to poach the Congress party’s MLAs. He also accused CM Kumaraswamy of being lenient on the BJP.
Along with several disclosures of rifts within the JD(S)-Congress alliance doing the rounds, continuous news of many regional leaders distancing themselves from the party have emerged in the past.
The dissent between the two parties had surfaced in June too, following the Cabinet announcement of the HD Kumaraswamy led Karnataka government, when several Congress leaders, as well as members of the JD(S), had expressed their displeasure over the allocation of ministerial berths.
There were reports of senior Congress leader Ramesh Jarkiholi defecting to BJP with a dozen other MLAs. Jarkiholi was stripped of his cabinet berth in the recent shuffle and had spoken openly about his displeasure.