Bengaluru, July 14: Hope for the survival of Congress-JDS government in Karnataka dwindled on Sunday after rebel MLAs of the coalition partners refused to take back their resignations. Congress MLA MTB Nagaraj, one of the 16 coalition legislators who have resigned from the state assembly over the past week, on Sunday refused to take back his resignation. Other disgruntled legislators also remained adamant on resigning.

Nagaraj had agreed to withdraw his resignation, giving some hopes to Congress-JDS government, after being coaxed by Congress leader Siddaramaiah and Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. On Sunday, he returned to Mumbai in a private jet. Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa's personal assistant, Santosh, was seen escorting Nagaraj to the waiting aircraft. Nagaraj then joined other rebel legislators in a Mumbai hotel. Speaker Doesn’t Have Right to Disqualify Anyone Because of Supreme Court’s Decision, Says BS Yeddyurappa.

"We won't take back resignations. There's no division among the rebel MLAs. We are not in touch with any other political party, and if a party is trying to approach us, we are not responding to them," Congress MLA ST Somasekhar told reporters at a press conference. Nagaraj was also present at the press conference. "There is no question of taking back my resignation," he said. They said legislator K Sudhakar will also join them. HD Kumaraswamy On Karnataka's Political Crisis Says 'What is the Necessity for Me to Resign'.

Earlier today, Congress strongman DK Shivakumar said that his party was willing to settle the demands of the rebel MLAs and hoped they will support the coalition government. "The Congress party is ready to settle their demands. We are getting signals that they will save our government," Shivakumar told ANI. He added that rebel MLAs will lose their seats if they vote against Congress during a confidence motion.

"The law is very clear. If they vote against a confidence motion, they will lose their membership of the House," he said. The 13-month-old coalition government in Karnataka slumped into crisis following the resignation of several Congress and JD(S) MLAs from the membership of the House.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 14, 2019 07:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).