3 Congress MLAs, who went missing amid Karnataka poaching, pledge loyalty

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jan 25, 2019 : Days after Congress swiftly shifted all its Karnataka MLAs to a Bengaluru resort to foil any poaching bid by the BJP, three out of four "rebel" legislators have claimed loyalty to the party, News18 reported.

 

The announcement was made by former CM Siddaramaiah said in a tweet, saying that the legislators have replied with reason. "Notices were issued to Ramesh Jarkiholi, Nagendra, Mahesh & Umesh Jadav for not attending the legislature party meeting. Three of them have replied with reasons for not attending & have reaffirmed their loyalty to the Congress party," he said.

Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumathahalli and two others — B Nagendra and Umesh Jadhav — had skipped the CLP meeting, which was called to take stock of the Congress’s strength amid speculation that some legislators were about to resign from the party, triggering fears of toppling the coalition government.

Congress sources had told News18 that BJP was using Congress MLA Ramesh Jharkiholi, who was dropped from the cabinet, to mobilise support. They added that Jharkiholi was trying to get at least 10 Congress MLAs on his side, but he has been able to get just two so far.

However, the speculations were put to rest after a meeting of the coordination committee of the coalition partners headed by Siddaramaiah. Of the four, only Umesh Jadhav has not replied to the show cause notices by the former CM.