Comments
Ahead of the Lok Sabha election results on May 23, speculation are rife that there could be a political upheaval in Karnataka which is ruled by the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition.
Kumaraswamy is facing dual challenge of handling pressure from outside (BJP) as well as within (Congress). As per reports, the Congress wants to hold the chief ministerial post and wants the JD(S) to hold the Deputy post.
But this has triggered a debate on the political option before the JD(S) and HD Kumaraswamy, who has constantly been criticised by Siddaramaiah’s followers.
Political observers said HD Kumaraswamy may either join hands with the BJP to get the Deputy Chief Minister’s post for his party or end the political uncertainty by dissolving the Karnataka Legislative Assembly if coalition partner — the Congress — fails to co-operate.
Meanwhile, BJP State president BS Yeddyurappa has made it clear he will make one more effort to bring down the government by wooing disgruntled Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the coalition.
Supporters of former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah have also reiterated that they would want see their leader as chief minister — the post currently occupied HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S).
Counting on by-polls
It is being said all the players — the JD(S), the Congress and the BJP — are waiting for the Lok Sabha results to make the next move. However, the by-election to two Assembly seats — Kundgol and Chincholi — has risen curiosity as the BJP, having 104 MLAs in the 225-member House, feels it will be a step closer to power if it wins both the seats, which were held by the Congress.
Word war continues
Meanwhile, both the coalition parties continued to trade barbs.. On Monday, JD(S) president AH Vishwanath launched a counter attack on friend-turned-foe Siddaramaiah.
The outburst is seen a political strategy to send a strong message to the Congress that the JD(S) will not tolerate belittling of its leader HD Kumaraswamy and that it has the option of looking beyond the Congress.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.