Bengaluru: In a desperate bid to save the coalition government, former prime minister Mr H.D. Deve Gowda has approached outgoing Congress president Rahul Gandhi and sought his intervention to keep the government intact at least till the Assembly elections in three States including Maharashtra are over by November.
On Monday, Mr Gowda called Mr Gandhi over phone and explained to him certain steps needed to ensure the government did not make an early exit.
Mr Gandhi, in turn reportedly agreed that it was necessary to have the government at least till November and spoke to former CM Siddaramaiah, before dispatching Congress General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad to Bengaluru.
Sources said that Mr Gowda had advised Congress leaders to tackle the issue by looking at it from various perspectives as the disqualification threat alone will not be able to save the government in the long run. Besides, the coalition partners are not sure if many more legislators are preparing to switch sides.
For instance, during the time available to them, Siddaramaiah and others could try to convince some of those who have already submitted their resignations, to do a rethink and withdraw their papers.
If the number of legislators planning to quit does not cross 20, then two or three members could be disqualified to make the others fall in line. However, if more than 29 MLAS quit, it would be difficult to save the government, sources added.
Meanwhile, the government is planning to hold the legislature session as per schedule and ensure that at least one day of the session is held.
