New Delhi: With its legislature party showing symtoms of falling like a house of cards in Gujarat, the Congress on Friday flew in a plane load of MLAs to Karnataka to protect itself from further poaching. With three more of its MLAs resigning from the Gujarat assembly, and threat of more MLAs leaving its ranks, a desperate Congress leadership dispatched the remaining MLAs to the party-ruled state.

According to reports from Bengaluru 46 party MLAs landed at Kempegowda airport late on Friday evening and were taken to a resort by Karnataka minister D K Shiva Kumar, who is considered to be good at managing such crisis like situations.

According to other reports, however, the number of MLAs sent to Karnataka capital has been put at 40. The move came following the resignations of three more party MLAs, taking the number of MLAs who have quit the party in the last 24 hours to six. Before that senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela had quit the party.