With all eyes on the Supreme Court for the hearing on Tuesday on the question of Congress and JD(S) MLAs who have resigned, the big task for the BJP is to ensure that they do not sway.
“Now, before the trust vote, the battle is over the mind space of the rebel MLAs. The coalition is trying hard to threaten them with disqualification for defection if they do not turn up for the trust vote, which they hope will get them back in the fold. But the momentum is with us,” claimed a senior BJP leader close to the party’s State president B.S. Yeddyurappa. “This is a time when power swings loyalties. The trick is to convince the rebels and those with potential to cross over that we are coming to power or retaining power as is the case with BJP and the coalition respectively. Both are in the same game,” he said.
While the BJP is keeping its flock together in a resort on the city’s outskirts, they have been constantly in touch with the rebel MLAs to counter any influence by the coalition. “Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, counsel for the rebel MLAs in the Supreme Court, is said to have briefed them on the legal aspects. Several other legal luminaries from the State have spoken to them, assuring them that it is legally not possible to disqualify them for defection, a senior leader overseeing the legal aspects said. “The MLAs seem to have crossed a point of no return. However, we need to be careful as in times like these, the situation is always dynamic,” he said.
Those left behind
More than those in Mumbai, the five MLAs in the State — Ramalinga Reddy, R. Roshan Baig, Munirathna, B.S. Anand Singh, and N. Nagaraju (MTB) — have left the BJP jittery. Congress leaders have constantly been in touch with these legislators, and Mr. Reddy’s statement that he would be attending the session from Monday and Mr. Nagaraju meeting several Congress leaders, including Siddaramaiah, have caused concern in the BJP camp. “If they return to the Congress fold, it will definitely have an impact on the rebels in Mumbai, especially on the MLAs from Bengaluru,” conceded a BJP strategist. However, these leaders have refused to go to a resort despite repeated suggestions to do so.
Seeing a threat, a delegation of BJP leaders met Mr. Reddy at his residence on Saturday morning. Sources said each of these MLAs has been assigned to a specific leader in the party for coordination. Five of the six rebel MLAs in the State, except Mr. Reddy, moved the Supreme Court on Saturday against Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar for not accepting their resignations. The petition was part of a strategy to not only pressurise the Speaker but also commit these rebel MLAs for their resignation before the Supreme Court, sources said.
At the resort
Meanwhile, Mr. Yeddyurappa spent of Saturday at the resort with BJP MLAs. “He had lunch with all the MLAs and spoke to them in groups of three or four, assuring them that there would be a BJP government by next weekend,” sources said. This was also intended to prevent any poaching of BJP MLAs by the coalition partners. BJP strategists claim all 105 MLAs were with them and reports of a few crossing-overs in a “reverse operation” were “mischievous”.
Three MLAs ready for disqualification?
Three rebel MLAs — Ramesh Jarkiholi, A.H. Vishwanath, and Mr. Nagaraju — are said to be ready to face disqualification for defection as well, if such a situation arises. This is not true of other rebel MLAs, it is learnt.
If a member is disqualified, he or she cannot become a Minister till re-elected, a clause which the coalition is using to threaten the rebel MLAs whose main grouse has been denial of Cabinet berths in the coalition government.
But Mr. Nagaraju and Mr. Vishwanath have told they would like to field their sons in the bypolls in their respective constituencies on BJP ticket and hence are not worried about disqualification. Mr. Jarkiholi, who has led at least two rebellions against this government earlier, is no mood to relent and has reportedly told party strategists that he would field a family member from Gokak in the bypoll if he is disqualified.
‘Some waiting and watching’
Strategists from the BJP claim that more MLAs from the Congress were in touch with them and were to resign. However, this suffered a setback after the Congress issued a whip and legislators are now worried over Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar’s decision on resignations.
“Tuesday’s Supreme Court order, if it is in favour of the rebels, will likely shore up momentum again and more MLAs are likely to resign,” said a senior leader. Sources in the party put this number in the range of four to six.
