Bengaluru: Fifteen out of the 17 rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs joined the BJP in the presence of chief minister BS Yediyurappa in a new development in Karnataka politics ahead of the upcoming bypolls in the state. Back in June-July, the rebel MLAs rebelled against the functioning of the government of Congress-JD(S) led by former chief minister Kumaraswamy claiming that they had lost confidence in the government. The Karnataka chaos that lasted for more than a month ended after the Kumaraswamy government failed to prove the majority on the house floor, and BJP formed a new government under BS Yediyurappa's leadership. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld Karnataka Governor KR Ramesh Kumar's decision to disqualify rebel MLAs but allowed them to contest by-polls and elections in 2023.