Karnataka: Another Blow To Congress-JD(S) Government As Senior MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi Resigns

In a fresh trouble for the the Congress-JD (S) government in Karnataka, two of the Congress legislators resigned from the assembly on Monday (1 July), thereby bringing down the coalition’s strength in the house, reports LiveMint.

The Congress’ legislator from Belagavi’s Gokak, Ramesh Jarkiholi reportedly faxed his resignation to Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar while the party MLA from Ballary district’s Vijayanagar Anand Singh submitted his resignation to Governor Vajubhai Vala.

"I met the Governor and tendered my resignation, I gave a copy to him. I will give a copy to the Legislative Assembly speaker as well. I am not hungry for power," Singh said after meeting the Governor.

As per the report, Singh cited state Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy signing a deal with the Jindal South West Holding Limited (JSW Steel) despite his and other leaders’ protests as the reason for his resignation.

Senior Congress leader Jarkiholi has been threatening to quit the party ever since he was dropped from the Cabinet in December 2018. He has also been leading a group of disgruntled Congress legislators, reports The Hindu.

With the resignation of Singh and Jarkiholi, the strength of the Congress in the state Assembly has come down to 76.

The developments on Monday (1 July) reportedly triggered speculation that as many as four more Congress MLAs may resign in the coming days.