Congress and JDS leaders sat huddled at Taj West End through Sunday midnight, looking for ways to save their 13-month-old government from its biggest crisis.

The meeting dwelled largely on three issues -- how to keep the flock safe from more poaching, how to bring back MLAs who had been lured by the BJP to resign, and how to lure BJP MLAs to their side. The meeting remained inconclusive, and is likely to continue on Monday.

A jet-lagged and visibly tired Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who shuttled between the Congress leaders’ meeting at the same hotel, and the JDS meeting, expressed confidence that he would achieve success in getting his “deserters” -- H Vishwanath, Gopalaiah and Narayan Gowda -- back. He told his flock that the government will not fall because they did not have enough support, and expressed confidence that he would not have to resign.  Sources said the coalition is working out strategies to knock off a few BJP MLAs with counter-poaching offers.

Later, KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre left the hotel, while Karnataka in-charge K C Venugopal, Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy stayed on. How easy will it be for Kumaraswamy to bring back the MLAs, considering there is zero access to them, is the moot point. It also appears that they have committed to the BJP already.

Sources said room rates at Sofitel Mumbai and daily expenses ranged up to Rs 20,000 per MLA. “It is obvious that the clinical operation-like booking of chartered flights indicate it is the BJP handiwork,” sources said.  Meanwhile, JDS MLA Devanand Fulsingh Chavan of Nagthan failed to turn up for the legislative party meeting, and party supremo H D Deve Gowda called him on Sunday morning, and asked him to attend the meeting.

It may be recalled that he was approached by the BJP some months ago and offered over Rs 20 crore. His wife, Sunita Chavan, contested from Vijayapura Lok Sabha seat on a JDS ticket and lost.