Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy on Monday met Mahesh Kumathalli, in a desperate bid to save his government from falling. Kumaraswamy’s efforts to pacify the rebels came on a day when ex-Congress MLA K N Rajanna struck a discordant note saying that the coalition government will “collapse after June 10”. Rajanna also blamed the defeat of the former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda in Tumakuru on deputy CM and Congress leader G Parameshwara, who hails from the district.

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CLP leader Siddaramaiah is already holding talks with Congress rebels who are being wooed by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). Kumaraswamy joined the peace moves as one of the major grievances of Congress MLAs is his inaccessibility. At the CLP meeting on Wednesday, Congress leaders do not rule out the possibility of some MLAs demanding an end to the coalition with JD(S), which they feel did more harm than good to the party.

Karnataka CM is all set to fill vacancies in his cabinet to accommodate disgruntled MLAs, especially Ramesh. The expansion could take place this week if all goes well in the coalition.

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