Kumaraswamy, who came up with another lightening political coup yesterday and unilaterally pledged his party support to BJP to form a coalition government, concerned over rebellion, ferried about 40 MLAs in a bus to a resort on the city outskirts.
The BJP and JDS have decided to parade their legislators before Governor Rameshwar Thakur tomorrow in a bid to convince him about the combine's strength and also mount pressure on him to facilitate formation of BJP-JDS government headed by former Deputy Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
Kumaraswamy staged a similar exercise in January last when he toppled Congress-JDS coalition by parading MLAs from JDS and BJP and formed the government.
Prakash, let down by JDS as it decided to tie up with BJP even as the senior leader had reached Delhi to continue government formation negotiations with Congress, declared that "the move by Kumaraswamy in giving a letter of support to BJP to form the government is invalid".
"I will discuss with MLAs and then we will formulate our strategy," a humiliated but defiant Prakash, who hails from the dominant Lingayat community, said even as Yeddyurappa pinned hopes on the Governor inviting him for government formation.
The Congress will petition Thakur to reject the claims of BJP-JDS combine.
The JDS and BJP reviving their ties has shocked Congress which was trying to cash in on the rebellion in the JDS camp and explore the possibility of forming its government.
KPCC President M Mallikarjuna Kharge urged the Governor not to entertain the BJP-JDS claim to form another coalition government, terming the patching up of the two warring parties as an "unholy alliance and lust for power".
The reason that forced the JDS to do a volte face remained inexplicable, despite Kumaraswamy attributing Congress attempts to split his party.
Both the parties are pinning hopes on their numerical strength on which the Governor has no option but to invite the BJP to form the government.
The BJP, which pulled down the Kumaraswamy government on October seven, petitioned Thakur to impose President's rule, dissolve the state assembly and call for early elections.
JDS chief H D Devegowda had also made a similar demand to the Governor.
In the 224-member state assembly, the BJP has 79 members, followed by Congress (64), JDS (58), JDU (5), Vatal Paksha, Kannada Naadu, CPI-M, RPI one each, Independents (13) and Speaker one.
