Karnataka: Congress MLA Anand Singh resigns; is BJP back with Operation Lotus?

Congress and JD-S suspect that another round of BJP's 'Operation Lotus' is at play here as the recent developments come at a time when CM HD Kumaraswamy has left for the US.

The Karnataka coalition government is in trouble again following the resignation of Congress MLA from Vijayanagar in Ballari district, Anand B Singh, on Monday.

According to reports, Singh met Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar at his residence to submit his resignation. It comes after Singh's visit to the national capital, where he had a meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. He submitted his resignation after returning to Bengaluru.

Speaker Ramesh Kumar has said that he has not received any resignation letter from the Congress leader.

Speculation is rife that more rebel leaders from the Congress will follow Singh's path and quit the party. It is also being claimed that disgruntled Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi has widened this resignation spree in the state. According to reports, Hirekirur MLA BS Patil and Kampli MLA JN Ganesh are also likely to submit their resignation.

Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders suspect that another round of 'Operation Lotus' is at play here as the recent developments come at a time when Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has left for the US and will return on July 8. The monsoon session of the Assembly is also scheduled to commence from July 12.

BJP leaders in Karnataka are also keeping a close watch on the recent developments. "Even I have heard about his (Anand Singh's) resignation through media. We don't want to destabilise the government... If the government falls on own its own, we will explore the possibilities of forming the new government but there is no question of fresh elections," Karnataka BJP chief and former CM BS Yeddyurappa told NDTV.