Karnataka crisis: Ahead of trust vote, parties move their legislators to resorts

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s proposal to move a confidence motion seems to have brought down the confidence levels among parties, at least with respect to their MLAs.
JDS' MLAs and Ministers arrived fo the Assemmbly session at the Vidhan soudha in Bengaluru on Friday. | (Pandarinath B | EPS)
JDS' MLAs and Ministers arrived fo the Assemmbly session at the Vidhan soudha in Bengaluru on Friday. | (Pandarinath B | EPS)

BENGALURU: Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s proposal to move a confidence motion seems to have brought down the confidence levels among parties, at least with respect to their MLAs.

Soon after the first day of monsoon session concluded, parties made arrangements to shift their MLAs to resorts in and around Bengaluru for ‘safekeeping’ ahead of the trust vote.

JDS legislators, who have been holed up at Prestige Golfshire resort in Devanahalli for three days now, were brought to Vidhana Soudha in a bus and taken back.

The BJP, which until Thursday maintained that there was no need to herd its MLAs, made arrangements to shift at least 90 of its 105 MLAs to Ramada resort in Yelahanka.

“Attempts have been made directly by the CM in various ways to contact our MLAs. We have decided to stay together until the motion of confidence is moved,” said BJP Chief Whip Sunil Kumar.

The Congress is unwilling to term it as “herding of MLAs”, choosing instead to call it a “meeting”.

“Party legislators will only hold meetings on Friday night and stay at Taj Vivanta, Yeswanthpur. We need to discuss our strategy for the confidence motion,” said KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre. 

Party sources, however, suggest that reservations have been made for four days starting Friday at a posh five-star hotel in Yelahanka. With JDS and BJP MLAs in resorts, Congress MLAs in a five-star hotel and close to 10 rebel MLAs holed up in a Mumbai hotel, luxury hotels and resorts seem to have more MLAs in attendance than the legislative assembly saw on Friday.

All three parties will continue to keep their MLAs herded at resorts and hotels until the process of trust vote is completed.

“Why is BJP herding its MLAs to a resort now? We will not stoop to your level and poach MLAs. Why are you afraid of the floor test, when you claim to have majority? The cowardice of BJP is at display! @hd_kumaraswamy will win the confidence vote by a huge margin. Wait n watch! (sic)” tweeted JDS’ Twitter handle, mocking the BJP.

The BJP, which had initially planned to shift only two dozen MLAs who were on the coalition’s radar, decided against it lest it creates a sense of alienation among its members.

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