BENGALURU: The BJP on Friday issued a whip to all its members, asking them to be present in the Assembly on Saturday to vote against the “no-confidence motion” moved by the Congress.The party office has been calling all the MLAs, especially those not attending the proceedings, to be present in Bengaluru and take part in voting, if necessary. Nippani MLA Shashikala Jolle, who has tested Covid-positive, too has been asked to land in Bengaluru.
At the legislature party meeting on Friday evening, 80 MLAs, barring those who have been diagnosed with Covid and those who have sought special permission to stay away, were present. Deputy Chief Ministers Govind Karjol and Dr CN Ashwath Narayan and ministers Jolle, Basavraj Bommai, Byrathi Basavraj, K Gopalaiah and Hartal Halappa were not present.State party president Nalin Kumar Kateel and Union minister Pralhad Joshi, along with CM BS Yediyurappa, briefed the members about the strategy for Saturday’s voting.
Experts said that the Congress was encouraged to move the no-confidence motion as several BJP MLAs were not attending the session and that the government may not get the required numbers. But the trust vote will expose the JDS, which has been rather neutral against the government. Also, the vote will set the narrative for the upcoming Sira by-election, they added.Around 30 MLAs, who spoke at the BJPLP meeting, complained that ministers were not available to them and were not listening to their suggestions. The chief minister told them that all the MLAs from a particular district should approach ministers together and not individually, to present their demands as this would show unity.
JDS won’t participate in trust vote
The JDS will not participate in the trust vote as the party has not been consulted by the Congress, said party deputy leader in the House Bandeppa Kashempur. “We have nothing to do with the no-confidence motion and this is my personal view,” he said. The party’s stand should help the BJP government sail through the trust vote.