Bengaluru: Senior Karnataka Congress leader and MLA from Hoskote MTB Nagaraj is among the leaders who have put in their papers.

He resigned along with another Congress MLA Sudhakar from Chikkaballapura earlier this week.

The resignations from the two leaders have hit the Congress hard.

Today (July 13) water resources minister DK Shivakumar, the Congress trouble-shooter and Krishna Byregowda, the Congress MLA from Byatarayanapura are at his residence, trying their best to convince him.

But sources said he was not willing to go back on his resignation, all thanks to former CM Siddaramaiah’s intervention, he has sought time to rethink on his resignation.

And what’s the reason for his resignation? It’s none other than HD Revanna, the elder brother of Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy.

Sources said, “ Earlier, when Congress leaders approached MTB Nagaraj to pacify him, he said that it was Revanna who interfered in matters of his ministry. He also said that when he approached chief minister Kumaraswamy for a project related to his ministry of housing, he (Kumaraswamy) didn’t speak to him well. He also went to the extent of saying that it is former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his family who want the coalition government, along with deputy chief minister Parameshwara. Not just that, he had even gone on to say that he won’t reconsider his decision, come what may. But with Siddaramaiah’s intervention, he is willing to rethink on the issue.”

As he refused to budge earlier, senior leaders, including Parameshwara, the deputy chief minister, were trying their best to somehow convince him. It is also said chief minister Kumaraswamy spoke to him over phone through Dhananjay, son-in-law of Nagaraj’s elder brother. But even then, Nagaraj was said to be displaying a rigid attitude.

The need to pacify Nagaraj and others is imperative because Kumaraswamy, on the floor of the House, openly declared his intent to take up a vote of confidence, which left everyone stumped.

If he loses the vote of confidence, his government will be a thing of the past.