Karnataka govt an unsteady ship? Kumaraswamy says he is at Congress' mercy

In what might make the JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka look like an unequal alliance and raise doubts about its future, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday said that the 65 million people of the state hadn't elected him as their leader. Instead, he said that he is indebted to the Congress for bestowing the chief ministerial post on him, and to that effect, he is at the mercy of the grand old party.    

The Karnataka election hadn't thrown up any clear winners. After loads of drama, the edge-of-the-seat thriller ended with the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Indian National Congress winning a trust vote to form what may turn out to be a tenuous coalition.  

Ahead of last week's floor test, Congress leader and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara had said that it hadn't been decided yet if Kumaraswamy would be the chief minister for a full five-year term.  

Moreover, Kumaraswamy's statement that he was indebted to the Congress came after the BJP accused him of backtracking on his poll promise of a farm loan waiver. He reasoned that any such plan could go ahead only with the consent of the bigger coalition partner.  

B S Yeddyurappa, who sat on the chief minister's chair for a brief while before relinquishing it ahead of a Supreme Court ordered floor test, had declared a huge waiver. In the past few days, the BJP has been at the government's throat, asking if and when it would make an announcement regarding the Rs 530 billion waiver. The single largest party in the Karnataka Assembly has also called for a bandh on Monday to protest against the new dispensation's failure to deliver on its poll promise.        

Operation Lotus

Amid concerns regarding their alliance, JD(S) and Congress leaders are also worried that the saffron party may use Machiavellian tactics to break their coalition and topple the government. More specifically, they are anxious about a rerun of 'Operation Kamala'. In 2008, the BJP had fallen three MLAs short of a majority. In the aftermath, several legislators from Congress and JD(S) resigned, bringing down the number required to muster a simple majority. This helped the BJP form the government. The legislators who had relinquished their seats were given BJP tickets and brought back to the Assembly.

After his swearing-in ceremony, Kumaraswamy had voiced his apprehension that the BJP would try to repeat Operation Kamala to bring down his government.   

 

The BJP had thought that Karnataka would be their gateway to the South. The party's leaders have been saying that the coalition has been stitched only to keep it away from power, and won't stand the test of a term. BJP President Amit Shah went as far as borrowing Indira Gandhi's slogan "Garibi hatao, desh bacaho" to describe the situation. He said that "Modi hatao" was the Opposition's agenda and its only reason to be united, whereas the BJP's agenda was development.    

Can birds of the same feather stay together?

Three Congress heavyweights in the state -- G Parameshwara, Siddaramaiah, and D K Shivakumar -- are reportedly angling for plum portfolios for their factions. Shivakumar has not been shy in showing his unhappiness at being overlooked for the post of Deputy CM. The three leaders are said to have had a roundtable with the Congress leadership in Delhi, trying to iron out modalities regarding Cabinet portfolios.  

Shivakumar, who is one of the richest legislators in the state and loans out his resorts to the party now and then to haul MLAs, told news agencies earlier that he won't take 'sanyas' and will play 'chess' in Karnataka. It would be interesting to wait and see what his moves are. 

With agency inputs