Bengaluru: Setting off fears in the Congress camp, that the coalition government could be toppled before the New Year, Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was miffed at being dropped from the cabinet last week, has reportedly met BJP senior leaders in New Delhi, and pitched his plans to install a new government headed by the BJP in the state.
Sources said that Mr Jarkiholi met the BJP leaders on Saturday night. During the meeting, Mr Jarkiholi reportedly told the leaders that he could get 12-14 MLAs required to bring down the Mr H.D. Kumaraswamy government that will allow the BJP, the single-largest party with 104 seats, to form the government.
But the senior BJP leaders are still not convinced that Mr Jarkiholi could muster enough numbers to topple the present coalition government. Also, the saffron party is in a piquant position as Ramesh has reportedly asked cabinet berths for not less than 10 of his MLAs who would support the BJP in the new government.
Congress sources said that alarm bells went off when newly-elected Ballari MP V.S. Ugrappa tried to hold a meeting of party MLAs in Ballari, but could not trace any of them. Family members and friends of Cong MLAs from the region, B. Nagendra and Anand Singh, told Deccan Chronicle that they are out of town to celebrate the New Year.
Mr Ramesh Jarkiholi, after he was dropped from the cabinet, had gone underground for the last one week and had remained incommunicado. AICC General Secretary, Karnataka in-charge, K.C. Venugopal and Ramesh's' brother Satish, who was inducted into the cabinet, were trying to reach him but were unsuccessful.
