Overview

• Congress MLA Vijayanand Kashappanavar maintains that BJP agents threatened 55 legislators with ED, CBI and IT raids to force defections, citing recent raids on party figures as proof.
• BJP state president BY Vijayendra dismissed the coercion claims as narrative-shifting by a panicking Congress and asserted his party will win Karnataka on its own strength in 2028.
• Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge ruled out any leadership reshuffle in Karnataka, even as deputy CM DK Shivakumar’s backers, including MLA HA Iqbal Hussain and senior leader Tanveer Sait, call for openness to change.
• Union minister Pralhad Joshi reiterated allegations that CM Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are engaged in ‘horse trading’ within Congress to secure MLA support.
• Cabinet ministers Ramalinga Reddy and KH Muniyappa countered that no legislators will defect and urged central agencies to investigate all lawmakers equally rather than targeting select individuals.