Senior BJP leaders will today hold fresh talks with dissident legislators here to defuse the crisis which has rattled the BS Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka.
Senior BJP leaders will today hold fresh talks with dissident legislators here to defuse the crisis which has rattled the BS Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka.
"I will be meeting them (dissidents). There are some issues which would be discussed and settled," Goa's senior BJP leader and leader of opposition Manohar Parrikar said.
The events are unfolding at Taj Exotica Resort at Benaulim, which has turned into a fortress since last night, with tight security around after around 15 legislators, including nine from BJP, checked in at the resort on Thursday.
Parrikar said that the dissident legislators have certain grievances with the government.
"That does not mean that they are supporting Congress. The Congress has been trying to woo them with all possible means," the former Goa chief minister alleged.
In a related development, Karnataka's former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy has also arrived in the state and is lodged in the same hotel accompanied by local Congress leaders including state power minister Aleixo Sequeira and public works department minister Churchill Alemao.
BJP claimed that Karnataka's tourism minister Janardhan Reddy, who had come to hold talks with unhappy legislators, was not allowed to meet them by Congress leaders including Goa home minister Ravi Naik.
"Our MLAs are kept under house arrest. This is very bad. The whole country is watching the development," Janardhan Reddy, Karnataka's tourism Minister, had told reporters last night.
The dissident BJP legislators met Parrikar last night after he forced his way in the hotel along with 60 activists.
The 29-month-old government plunged into crisis and was reduced to minority yesterday after 14 BJP and five Independent MLAs withdrew support to it prompting governor HR Bharadwaj to ask the chief minister to seek a trust vote by October 12. The chief minister has said he will take the floor test on October 11.
The on-the-brink BJP and the JD(S), which is looking for an opportunity to topple the saffron power in Karnataka, are engaged in hectic parleys and strategic moves to woo dissident MLAs ahead of the crucial vote of confidence on October 11.
Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa along with senior party colleagues is making efforts to woo back the dissidents, with the minister for tourism Janardhan Reddy, who is working as an emissary of the chief minister, camping here to get the dissidents back into the saffron fold.
Prior to the rebellion, the 225-member Assembly comprised 122 BJP members (including support of five independents), 73 Congress, 28 JDS, one independent and the speaker.
However, the BJP was reduced to 103, after 19 legislators withdrew support. The BJP, however, got some breather when three MLAs returned to the fold, raising the number to 106.
The Yeddyurappa government would still have to garner the support of seven more to reach the magic number 113 to sail through the confidence motion.
The dissidents claim to have 14 in their camp, including six ministers, who were either dropped or resigned from the Yeddyurappa ministry.
However, the Yeddyurappa camp witnessed some glimmer of hope after minister for excise MP Renukacharya yesterday said "We do not want to destabilize the Yeddyurappa government. We have no demands or conditions. We are not blackmailing the government. Yeddyurappa is our leader and we will definitely vote in favour of the confidence motion".
With the BJP rebel MLAs expecting to return to Bangalore, the saffron power is hoping to get their numbers right on October 11.
According to BJP sources, barring three BJP MLAs -Anand Asnotikar, Shivangowda Naik and Balchandra Jarkiholi -the rest of the BJP MLAs were expected to return today.
Yeddyurappa said, "We are confident of proving our majority on October 11."
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