Sigh of relief for BS Yeddyurappa as rebel MLAs agree to return to party

BANGALORE/NEW DELHI: All the 11 rebel BJP legislators in Karnataka agreed on Saturday to return the party fold in exchange for “important” positions, putting an end to a crisis of instability for the BJP government in the state. This follows talks between the rebels and chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s emissaries, said a person close to the matter, asking not to be named.

After the Supreme Court on Friday struck down Karnataka Legislative Assembly speaker KG Bopaiah’s order disqualifying 16 MLAs, which included 11 rebels from the BJP and five independents, the government had looked highly vulnerable and short of a majority in the House. Yeddyurappa lost no time in dispatching his ministers Umesh Katti, Govind Karjol and MP Renukacharya to hold talks with the rebel MLAs who were staying in Delhi, the person said.

The rebel MLAs also met senior leaders of the BJP seeking assurance that they would be given plum portfolios within the ministry or as heads with the statutory boards. With all these 11 MLAs in the BJP’s fold, the party’s strength in the Assembly stays at 120 out of 225.

But Karnataka Governor HR Bharadwaj stepped up pressure on chief minister BS Yeddyurappa on Saturday to force a trial of strength for the BJP government after the Supreme Court quashed the Speaker’s decision to disqualify rebel party MLAs. Bharadwaj was in New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.