Karnataka: Congress, JD(S) shift MLAs from Bengaluru 'to avoid horse trading'

To avoid any attempt of horse trading by the Bhartiya Janata Party the Congress and JD(S) shifted their MLAs from Bengaluru to Hyderabad, JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy said.

He said, "We have to take some caution. To stop horse-trading, they(MLAs) are moving together. All MLAs (JD(S) and Congress) are travelling on the bus, they are going to stay in the same place".

The Congress MLAshave been shifted to Hyderabad's Taj Krishna Hotel.

According to a media report, the MLAs of the two parties were shifted to Hyderabad by bus as the HAL airport in Bengaluru denied them permission to fly to Hyderabad, the media stated.

Earlier JD(S) MLA Shivarame Gowda had said that some of the Congress and JD(S) MLAs were going to Kochi while others to Hyderabad.

The two parties decided to shift their MLAs from Bengaluru after the removal of the police force from outside their resort.

The Congress MLAs stayed at Eagleton Resort while the JD(S) MLAs atShangri-La Hotel in Bengaluru.

The security deployed outside the Eagleton Resort was withdrawn on Thursday. Following this, the Congress leader accused the BJP members of entering the resort and offering money to their MLAs.

Congress leader claimed that after the police were withdrawn from outside the resort, the BJP entered the hotel and offered money to their MLAs.

Apparently, the Congress and JD(S) have put their MLAs in the resortto keep them out of the reach of BJP.

The BJP, which has formed the government in Karnataka, needs to prove its majority within 15 days. The party needs the support of 7 more MLAs in order to reach the majority mark andcontinue with its governance in Karnataka.

In the elections held on May 12, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 members. The Congress secured 78 seats, the JD(S) 37 and others three.