Karnataka: Congress initiates backchannel negotiations to win back rebel MLAs
Bengaluru: As the political imbroglio continued in Karnataka, Senior Congress leaders Saturday began backchannel negotiations to persuade the disgruntled MLAs, who have resigned from the Assembly, dealing a blow to the coalition government.
A day after Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy made a surprise announcement in the Assembly that he would seek a trust vote, efforts were intensified to reach out to the dissident legislators.
Congress's troubleshooter and Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar reached the residence of Housing Minister M T B Nagaraj at about 5 AM and camped there for almost four-and-a-half hours, trying to pacify him.
According to reports, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara too reached Nagaraj's house to convince him to withdraw the resignation.
Nagaraj had resigned from the MLA post on Wednesday. A similar attempt was on to persuade MLAs Ramalinga Reddy, Munirathna and R Roshan Baig.
Sources in JD(S) said Kumaraswamy is in direct talks with at least four Congress legislators, who have resigned, and was hopeful that they would withdraw their resignation.
In a bid to keep the flock together ahead of the floor test that is likely during the coming week, both the Congress and BJP shifted their MLAs to hotel and resorts.
Commenting on the developments, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said these efforts would not yield any result as the fall of the government was "imminent".
"There's confusion in Congress and JD(S) due to which the MLAs are fleeing the party. A systematic conspiracy is going on to bring the MLAs back," Yeddyurappa told reporters here.
"The atmosphere is chaotic and the fall of the government is imminent," the state BJP chief said. Claiming that the state government has lost majority, he said seeking the vote of confidence was "meaningless".
Kumaraswamy made the announcement about trust vote on the floor of the Assembly, after the Supreme Court Friday ordered the Speaker to maintain status quo on the resignations of 10 rebel MLAs belonging to the Congress-JDS coalition till July 16.
The coalition government, which has been shaky since it came into being last year after a post-poll arrangement in the wake of a hung verdict, is facing a serious crisis now with 16 MLAs -- 13 of the Congress and three of the JD(S) -- resigning from the Assembly.
Besides, two Independent legislators, who were made ministers recently to provide stability to the government, have quit the ministry and withdrawn their support to it.
The ruling coalition's total strength is 116 (Congress-78, JD(S)-37 and BSP-1), besides the Speaker. With the support of the two Independents, the BJP has 107 MLAs in the 224-member House.
If the resignations of the 16 MLAs are accepted, the coalition's tally will be reduced to 100. The Speaker too has a vote.
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KSRTC to run 1000 special services to clear Christmas rush
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation will operate 1000 additional special services in view of the Christmas festival.
In addition to the existing schedule, the special services will run on 19.12.2025, 20.12.2025 and 24.12.2025. Further, special buses will be operated from various places of intra & Interstate places to Bengaluru on 26.12.2025 & 28.12.2025.
Special buses will be exclusively operated from Bengaluru Kempegowda Bus Station to Dharmastala, Kukkesubramanya, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mangaluru, Kundapura, Shringeri, Horanadu, Davangere, Hubbali, Dharwad, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Gokarna, Sirsi, Karwar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Koppala, Yadgir, Bidar, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Hyderabad and other places.
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Special buses from Mysuru Road Bus Station will be exclusively operated towards Mysuru, Hunsur, Piriyapatna, Virajpet, Kushalanagar, Madikeri.
The corporation has also announced a discount of 5 per cent on the fare if four or more passengers book tickets under a single reservation. A discount of 10 per cent will be extended on return journey tickets if onward and return tickets are booked simultaneously.
In addition to the above, special buses will be operated from all Taluk/District Bus Stands in the jurisdiction of KSRTC based on the traffic needs.
