The coalition government is on a shaky wicket with 16 MLAs -- 13 of the Congress and three of the Janata Dal-Secular -- resigning their assembly membership. Besides, two independent legislators, who were made ministers recently to provide stability, have quit the ministry and withdrawn support.
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu reported one case each, officials said.
The ruling coalition had held out the threat of using the Whip against the wayward MLAs, citing the disqualification provision under the anti-defection law.
With the two latest resignations, 16 MLAs -- 13 from the Congress and 3 from the JD-S -- have quit while two Independent MLAs -- H Nagesh and R Shanker -- have already withdrawn support.
A total of 37 deaths were reported since Thursday evening of which 14 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, nine from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh,Tamil Nadu and Telengana and one from Karnataka, ministry data stated.
The court struck down the portion of the Speaker's order by which the legislators were disqualified till the end of the 15th Karnataka assembly.
The 14 MLAs who had resigned earlier this month include Pratapgouda Patil, BC Patil, Shivaram Hebbar, ST Somashekhar, BA Basavaraja, Anand Singh, R Roshan Baig, Munirathna, K Sudhakar, MTB Nagaraj, AH Vishwanath, K Gopalaiah, Narayana Gowda and Shrimanth Patil.
The confidence motion moved by Kumaraswamy was defeated with 99 members voting for the motion and 105 against it in a House of 225 including speaker P R Ramesh Kumar and a nominated member.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan's recent request to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley - for an increase in tax on cigarettes from 45 per cent to 60 per cent in the coming Budget - seems to have had a serious impact on cigarette smokers' pockets.
Three ministers from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions submitted their resignations to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy late on Thursday night even as at least 15 others are understood to have backed out following a stern warning by the high command.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances