The Hindu Business Line : Karnataka Governor invites Kumaraswamy to form Govt

THE ten-day long political stalemate ended on Saturday with the Karnataka Governor, Mr T. N. Chaturvedi, inviting the Janata Dal (S) rebel leader, Mr H.D. Kumaraswamy's coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the Government following the resignation of the Chief Minister, Mr N. Dharam Singh. The new coalition Government will take oath on February 3, said Mr Kumaraswamy, after meeting the Governor. However, the Governor has asked Mr Kumaraswamy to prove his claim of majority on the floor of the House within eight days after assuming office as the Chief Minister.

The end of the 20-month rule by the Congress (I)-led Coalition Government will pave the way for the BJP to come to power for the first time in South India, albeit with a coalition partner.

The party with 79 members, has now succeeded in aligning with JD(S) MLAs. It has prepared a formula based on the Jammu and Kashmir model of power-sharing in which the JD(S) would rule the State for the first 20 months and the BJP the remaining term of 20 months. The BJP had been striving to come to power in the South for nearly two decades.

BJP, which emerged as the single largest party in the hung assembly in 2004, failed to find a partner to form a Government in the State. Though its bitter opponent JD(S) chose to go with Congress (I) to prevent the "communal force" from coming to power. However, the uneasy coalition reached a flashpoint with the JD(S) faring poorly in the recent panchayat elections. What hastened the desertion of Congress (I) was its moves to share power with JD(S)'s arch rival Mr Sidharamaiah, who has formed his own group

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