Bengaluru, Feb. 18 -- More than 20 Congress legislators from Karnataka are scheduled to leave for Australia late on Tuesday night, a group trip that has drawn political attention amid ongoing speculation about leadership changes within the party's state unit.

The legislators, including some members of the Legislative Council, are expected to return to Bengaluru on March 1. Several in the group are considered close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The visit has been described by some participants as a study tour focused on agriculture, though at least one legislator said he would be paying for his travel personally.

Hampanagouda Badarli, a legislator from Sindhanur, said the trip was not linked to political directives. "The MLA's foreign ...