Karnataka Assembly to convene on Friday amid resignation spree in ruling camp

The spree of resignations by MLAs of the ruling Congress and JD(S) is set to resonate in the Karnataka Assembly when it convenes on Friday for a 10-day session amidst Opposition BJPs demand for a floor test and ouster of the H.D. Kumaraswamy government.

The session had been convened in the normal course before the 13-month-old government plunged into a crisis, triggered on July 6 by a string of resignations by 18 legislators who were part of the ruling coalition.

In the 225-member Assembly, including one nominated, the Congress had 79 MLAs, including Speaker, and JD(S) had 37 before the resignation by 16 MLAs. Lone members of BSP and KPJP (a regional outfit) besides an Independent also were with the government.

However, 16 MLAs – 13 of the Congress and 3 of the JD(S) — have tendered their resignations over the last few days.

The KPJP legislator and the Independent also have quit as ministers and withdrawn their support to the government but they continue to be the members of the Assembly.

If the Speaker accepts resignation of the 16 members of the Congress and JD(S), the Assembly’s effective strength will drop to 209 from 225 and the ruling coalition will be reduced to 100, when the halfway mark would be 105.

(IANS)