Ahead of Karnataka floor test, rebel Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy says he will withdraw resignation, vote in favour of govt

Bengaluru: In some relief to the embattled coalition government in Karnataka, Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy on Wednesday said he has decided to withdraw his resignation from the Assembly and will vote in favour of the trust vote to be sought by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. “I will take part in the Assembly session on Thursday and vote in favour of the party. I will continue to remain in the party and serve as MLA,” he said. Reddy, a former minister, is among the 13 Congress and three JD(S) MLAs who have tendered their resignations while two Independent legislators have withdrawn their support to the 14-month old Kumaraswamy government, leaving it tottering on the brink of collapse. [caption id=“attachment_4248577” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Karnataka minister Ramalinga Reddy. Twitter@RLR_BTM[/caption] The survival of the Congress-JD(S) government hangs precariously on the eve of the trust vote with the Supreme Court on Wednesday holding that the 15 rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs, who had moved it, cannot be compelled to participate in the proceedings of the ongoing Assembly session. While most of the rebel MLAs have been staying in Mumbai, Reddy chose to be in the city amid reports that Congress was trying to pacify him. The party had also left him out while moving the Assembly Speaker for disqualification of the rebel MLAs, saying he was an “exception.” Reddy, too, had maintained he would remain in Congress and he has resigned only from the Assembly. Hours ahead of the floor test on Thursday, Reddy said he would withdraw his resignation letter submitted to the Speaker on 6 July. The other rebel MLAs camping in Mumbai said there was no question of stepping back on their resignations or attending the session. If the resignations of the 15 MLAs are accepted or if they stay away from the Assembly, the ruling coalitions tally will plummet to 102, reducing the government to a minority. Follow all the live updates here