Leaders of Karnataka’s ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition held intense discussions in Bengaluru on Sunday on how to save their government, which was close to collapse. Their efforts suffered a setback when rebel Congress MLA MTB Nagaraj, whom they had tried to win back, flew to Mumbai to join the other rebels. The opposition BJP said the coalition no longer had a majority and asked Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to either resign or face a trust vote on Monday itself.

The numbers

Sixteen MLAs, 13 from the Congress and three from the JD(S), have resigned their seats, and two independents who had recently been made ministers have quit the cabinet and withdrawn support. Excluding the Speaker, the coalition has 116 members (Congress 78, JD(S) 37 and BSP 1). With the two independents, the BJP has 107 in the 224-member House, where the majority mark is 113. If the 16 resignations are accepted, the coalition would drop to 100.

Nagaraj’s U-turn

After a day of talks on Saturday, the Congress had appeared to make progress with Nagaraj, the Hoskote MLA. Before leaving on Sunday he said he would decide on withdrawing his resignation after talking to Chikkaballapura MLA K Sudhakar, since the two had resigned together on July 10. In Mumbai, however, he said he was “firm” and would not withdraw. When TV channels showed him boarding a chartered flight with BJP leader R Ashoka nearby, Congress leaders including minister DK Shivakumar accused the BJP of being behind it. Nagaraj denied that Ashoka flew with him and called Shivakumar’s claims untrue.

Efforts to win back rebels

Kumaraswamy rushed to his father, JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda, for talks, and Congress legislators met at a hotel under CLP leader Siddaramaiah, who called a legislature party meeting for Monday. Top leaders, including Shivakumar, KPCC chief Dinesh Gundu Rao and Mallikarjun Kharge, also met. They focused on seven-time MLA Ramalinga Reddy, hoping that if he returned, Bengaluru MLAs S T Somashekar, Munirathna and Byrathi Basavaraj might follow. Reddy said he would not talk politics until July 15, when the Speaker had asked him to appear.

In Mumbai, 12 rebel MLAs said they were united. “There was no force or influence on us,” Somashekar said, adding that they had no plans to withdraw their resignations.

BJP demand and court hearing

State BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa said an honest chief minister would resign or move a trust motion on Monday. Kumaraswamy had proposed holding the vote on Wednesday at Friday’s Business Advisory Committee meeting, which the BJP skipped. On Tuesday the Supreme Court is due to hear a plea by 10 rebel MLAs, which five others have sought to join.

What happened next

The Kumaraswamy government fell in July 2019, and Yeddyurappa returned as Chief Minister.

See also: Janata Dal (Secular), Indian National Congress.

Originally published on 15 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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