New Delhi, Jul 9 (IANS): The Congress on Tuesday rushed senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and B.K. Hariprasad to Bengaluru to save its 13-month coalition government in Karnataka which is battling a crisis of survival after the resignation of over 17 legislators.

According to party leaders, the Congress has sent senior leaders Azad and Hariprasad to deal with the situation. They said Azad left for Bengaluru in the afternoon, while Hariprasad was slated to reach the Karnataka capital later in the night.

The party has earlier sent General Secretaries Mallikarjun Kharge and K.C. Venugopal on Saturday to control the crisis following the resignation of over 17 legislators of the ruling Congress-JD-S combine.

Several senior party leaders on Monday also discussed the Karnataka crisis at a meeting in the national capital.

Senior party leaders like Azad, Ahmed Patel, P. Chidambaram, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Deepender Hooda and Mukul Wasnik were present in the meeting. The party had held a similar meeting on Saturday, soon after over a dozen Congress and JD-S MLAs resigned.

Following the crisis in the state, the Congress is still trying to work out a solution to save its government in Karnataka as differences between senior party leader Siddaramaiah and JD-S' Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy have widened on who will lead the coalition in the southern state.

The Congress is also thinking of naming a leader other than Siddaramaiah for the chief ministership if it is acceptable to the JD-S.

On Monday, all Congress and JD-S ministers in Karnataka resigned in a bid to save the tottering government even as the BJP asked Chief Minister Kumaraswamy to quit, saying he had lost majority support in the House.

The Congress has accused the BJP of destabilising the Karnataka government, a charge the saffron party has denied.