Karnataka ministers Shobha Karandlaje and CM Udasi resign

Bangalore: The Karnataka government seems headed for fresh trouble as two ministers, loyal to former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, resigned today. Energy Minister Shobha Karandlaje handed in her resignation along with Public Works Minister CM Udasi. "I have resigned as a minister. I am also going to resign today as MLA and so is Shobha. We will meet the Assembly secretary since the speaker is not in town," Mr Udasi said. Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar confirmed the resignations. He said, "Yes, both ministers have given their resignations to me. I have a tour now. We will decide what to do next.'' The two ministers are expected to join Mr Yedyurappa's new political outfit, the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP). Mr Yeddyurappa, who led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a historic first victory in Karnataka in 2008, resigned as chief minister in July 2011 following corruption charges. He subsequently quit the BJP and founded the KJP in December 2012. His party claims that more BJP legislators will soon quit the government and join the new party. These developments are significant given that Assembly elections in Karnataka are due in May. NDTV