Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader and JD(S) ally MLA Mahesh has reportedly backed out from voting for Monday's Karnataka floor test.
According to reports, Mahesh said that BSP chief Mayawati has asked him to abstain from the vote of trust on Monday and Tuesday and also to remain neutral, so he will not attend the floor test. He was also missing from the Assembly when a high drama unfolded during the sessions.
With the resignation of 16 MLAs from the coalition (Congress-12 and JD(S)-3), the government is currently on unstable ground as more party leaders are falling off from both parties. Independent MLAs H Nagesh and R Shankar have also withdrawn their support from the government.
The coalition government has been downtrodden since the resignation spree took place in the state. If the speaker Ramesh Kumar accepts the resignation of the 15 dissident legislators, the majority will brink to 101 or further down.
Even though the coalition government is facing a huge challenge to hold its roots in the state, the party leaders are still working harder to pull the rebels to their sides and pacify them. Congress troubleshooter DK Shivakumar said that the JD(S) is willing to step down and make way for the Congress to head the state.
DKS told the reporters that JD(S) supremo HD Devegowda has spoken to the Congress high command and he has no problem with the Congress taking over the chief ministerial post. A confident Shivakumar also said that Mahesh will attend Monday's assembly session even though the party high command has refused him from doing so.
