Karnataka JD(S) faces split

Dharam Singh coalition government may lose majority, NDA waits in the wings

The future of the ruling Congress-Janata Dal(S) coalition was seriously jeopardised today as Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and JD (S) supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, quarrelled openly about who was more powerful in the party.

The rift will culminate on August 4, the day Siddaramaiah has called a meeting of the JD(S) legislature party to get legislators to pass a resolution in his favour.

At the heart of the quarrel is a perceived threat by Deve Gowda to his base, which voted for the Janata Dal, and Siddaramaiah's burning desire to rid himself of Deve Gowda, and particularly of the influence of his sons.

This would not have alarmed anyone had the future of the coalition government in Karnataka not hung in balance. With 84 MLAs in the 224-member House, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is waiting for the quarrelling to reach proportions where the JD(S) splits and enough numbers side with the NDA to help it form a government.

If a split takes place in the 58-member JD(S), the government could also fall leading to fresh Assembly elections in the state. The Congress has just 65 MLAs in the Assembly.

Last night, several JD(S) legislators, perceived to be loyal to Deve Gowda, met at a dinner and declared their loyalty to him. Today, Siddaramaiah dismissed as "illegal and invalid" the meeting, which reportedly decided to remove him as the legislature party leader.

"As per the JD(S) constitution, I am empowered to convene the legislature party meeting," said Siddaramaiah, who now heads the legislature party but is expected to face the axe shortly as the JD(S) legislature party leader, following last night's meeting.

Decisions adopted at the dinner meetings could not be labelled as the official one, he told reporters and decried the attempts by a section of the JD(S) leaders expressing lack of confidence in his leadership.

Siddaramaiah's relations with Deve Gowda have soured recently, particularly after he defied the latter and attended a convention of Backward Classes, minorities and Dalits at Hubli a fortnight ago.

Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh held a meeting with the central Congress leadership on Sunday to work out steps to prevent the JD(S) split. One possibility was the creation of a coordination committee.

Both Deve Gowda and Siddaramaiah are claiming the Congress backing. Hitting out at Deve Gowda and his son for "creating" the crisis, Siddaramaiah made it clear where the problem lay.