The fair-weather alliance between the Congress and the JD (S) — which is set to rule Karnataka from May 23 onwards — is a bundle of contradictions.

The alliance, which the BJP immediately termed as an unholy alliance, consists of those who have never seen eye to eye on several issues. In fact, some of the leaders in the alliance have been involved in bitter electoral fights.

Electoral fights

The most famous was the one between HD Deve Gowda, the patriarch of the new alliance, and Tejaswini Sriramesh Gowda, a wet-behind-ears candidate propped by DK Shivakumar, the man who is credited with keeping the Congress flock together during the crucial trust vote on May 19.

SM Krishna, who was the chief minister between 1999 and 2004, had roped in his young colleague Shivakumar to field a candidate who could defeat Deve Gowda during the 2003 Lok Sabha elections. Around that time, Tejaswini was making a name for herself in the television field with her aggressive style and Shivakumar realised that while she was a greenhorn, she had the potential to give a tough fight to Gowda, then an MP.

Tejaswini surprised everyone by winning the election by over one lakh votes. It is a defeat that Deve Gowda hasn’t forgotten yet and he is known for harbouring grudges for a long time. Tejaswini, who is now in BJP, is expected to be fielded against a JD (S) candidate once HD Kumaraswamy gives up one of the two seats he had won during this year’s Assembly elections.

Mudslinging campaign

Then there is a long-standing rivalry between the Gowda family and Siddaramaiah. They may have buried their hatchets temporarily, but cracks are bound to show up once Kumaraswamy becomes the Chief Minister. Kumaraswamy had earlier told BusinessLine that none of the welfare schemes rolled out by Siddaramaiah had reached the rural folk. It remains to be seen whether he will continue to fund these schemes, especially the loss-making Indira canteens which dole out subsidised food across the State. Kumarawamy had also promised to waive off the entire farm loan in case he becomes the CM. This will cost the State exchequer a whopping ₹12,000 crore or even more. Siddaramaiah is known for keeping a tight rein on State finances and such a largesse will not go down well with him.

Community vote-banks

More than anything else, the accusations which the Congress and the JD (S) traded against each other before the elections will surely go back to haunt both the parties as they have completely different vote banks.

The JD (S), in its manifesto, had said that the Congress had completely neglected other communities while trying to promote AHINDA.

“Even the most pious community of Lingayats was divided by the Congress-led government,” the manifesto stated. The freebies which Siddaramaiah routinely distributed to his Kuruba community to nurture his vote bank may not happen any more because it will not go down well with the powerful Vokkaliga community to which the Gowdas belong.

Siddaramaiah’s place

But the bigger issue is this: How will they accommodate Siddaramaiah in the new set-up? He will be aspiring for a post which gives him the authority to dictate terms to the coalition partners though it is quite evident he is not the most popular leader in his party. It is a headache which the Congress high command will have to deal with as early as possible so that Siddaramaiah does not become a nuisance to the alliance partners.

Both the coalition partners will have to punch above their weight if they need to keep the alliance well-oiled.

Every national party will keep a close watch on this alliance because if this can succeed, it will provide a template for the Opposition for future elections, be it Assembly or general elections.

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