Karna rebels leader says Yeddy CM, Crisis over?

Amid efforts to reach out to rebels by offering some ministerial berths and the BJP central leadership threatening that notice will be slapped under anti-defection law, dissident Excise Minister M P Renukacharya said the government is stable ahead of next week's trust vote.

"Yeddyurappa is our leader. Government is stable. There is no threat to it. We are going back to Bangalore tomorrow," Renukacharya told Kannada TV channels from a Goa hotel where he and around 14 dissidents are camping, a day after the BJP's first government in the South faced a threat.

The 29-month-old government plunged into crisis and was reduced to minority yesterday after 14 BJP and five Independent MLAs withdrew support to it prompting Governor H R Bharadwaj to ask the chief minister to seek a trust vote by October 12. The chief minister has said he will take the floor test on October 11.

Both the chief minister and the BJP exuded confidence that the government will win the trust vote.

"I hope by the evening of tomorrow all the MLAs who are outside now will return back and join our fold. I am very confident of winning the vote of confidence. I am 100 per cent sure that my MLAs will support me," Yeddyurappa said shortly after Renukacharya's comments.

In New Delhi, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said, "We would like to warn those MLAs who have given the letter to the Governor (for withdrawal of support) that they had won elections on BJP symbol and can lose their membership of the assembly (under anti-defection law."

The developments during the day were marked by high drama when around 15 rebels landed in Goa today after hopping from one city to another since yesterday. Karnataka Home Minister R Ashok also alleged that the Congress, which is part of the ruling coalition in Goa, was forcibly keeping the rebel MLAs in a resort with the help of local police.
Taking the fight to rebel camp, Yeddyurappa earlier in the day removed Balachandra Jarkiholi and Anand Asnotikar from the Cabinet. Four dissident ministers were removed yesterday.

At the same time, sources in ruling BJP said there were prospects of some dissident MLAs being made ministers, a move that could stem the threat to the government.
The BJP high command rushed senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu to Bangalore today to defuse the crisis which showed signs of wrecking the yesterday after 18 legislators withdrew support.

"We are confident of proving our majority", Naidu said, as he accused the opposition Congress of coordinating with the JD-S to destabilise the government.

There was some silver lining for the chief minister earlier in the day when S K Bellubbi deserted the dissident camp and swore his loyalty to the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister also appeared to take divine help to save his government when he rushed to the famous Rajarajeswara temple at Taliparamba near Kannur for a darshan. He said problems with dissidents would be sorted out through talks and was confident of passing the floor test.

Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy, along with senior leader H N Anathkumar, who spearheaded in part the "Save Yeddyurappa campaign" worked overtime to win over dissidents. Significantly, Reddy had led the dissidents when the chief minister faced the revolt last year.