india

Updated: Sep 23, 2018 07:03 IST

Karnataka’s ruling partners the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) have regularly had to battle rumours that their legislators are set to desert them to help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) topple chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s four-month-old government. So it was on Saturday amid buzz that three Congress MLAs were headed to Chennai.

That the three - MTB Nagaraj, D Sudhakar and H Nagesh who had contested as an independent but subsequently joined the Congress - could not be reached for comments fuelled the speculation that they were BJP-bound.The Congress rubbished the rumours, confirming late in the evening that the three were in touch with former chief minister Siddaramaiah and were not planning on quitting the party.

The Congress again alleged that some BJP leaders, including state president BS Yeddyurappa, have been in touch with legislators of the ruling coalition, promising monetary incentives to make them switch over, allegations that have been denied by the BJP.

“They offered Rs 5 crore to our legislator CS Shivalli,” alleged state Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday, referring to the party MLA who was allegedly approached by the BJP. Earlier this week, the Congress had even filed a complaint with the income tax department alleging that the BJP was collecting black money in order to indulge in horse-trading.

The latest round of desertion rumours were sparked after a turf battle within the Congress’s Belagavi district unit spiraled out of control. However the three in the centre of Saturday’s rumour are not from the district. The Congress alleged the BJP has approached its leaders in an attempt to dislodge the Congress-JD(S) coalition, which managed to form the government in the state despite the BJP having got the highest number of seats in assembly elections this year.

A senior BJP leader who did not want to be named, claimed that it was the Congress leaders who had reached out to the party. “We followed up on those conversations, it wasn’t the other way around,” the leader said.

Congress leaders admit privately that the threat of desertion is being used by some members as leverage with an eye on a cabinet expansion that chief minister Kumaraswamy is likely to effect soon. The Jarkiholi brothers - minister Ramesh Jarkiholi and his brother Satish - had used this successfully, kicking up a row earlier this month over elections to a local cooperative bank, which was controlled by them till recently.

Congress’ first-time MLA Lakshmi Hebbalkar had decided to prop up local leaders close to her to challenge their control. The brothers signalled that some people in the party were working to weaken their hold over the Belagavi district, publicly criticising state leaders and holding many discussions with MLAs close to them. That had sparked speculation that they were considering quitting the Congress.

However, they haven’t quit, with a compromise solution struck up after senior Congress leaders intervened allowing the Jarkiholis to pick president and vice-president candidates from among Hebbalkar’s group, allowing the brothers to claim the bragging rights in the battle.

Even as the Congress quelled that round of dissent, other leaders saw an effective tactic to lobby for ministerial posts, a senior party leader said, adding, “The lead up to a Cabinet expansion is always a time of anxiety for parties, because those who lose out are sure to kick up a fuss.”.

But both the Congress and the JD (S) are confident that they have matters under control. The Congress leader pointed to a letter written to Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar as the reason for this confidence. In the letter, the JD(S) said there were reports of horse trading and, hence, the speaker must not accept resignations, if tendered, without first investigating the matter.