World

Rocky road ahead for new alliance in Karnataka

May 21, 2018

By Wazir Akhtar

THE southern Indian state of Karnataka has been in the news for almost a month now. First it was the state assembly election and then the post-election result theatrics that continued for almost a week. The drama ended after the Supreme Court reversed the state governor’s decision of giving 15 days’ time to B.S. Yeddyurappa to prove his majority at the floor of the assembly to only 24 hours. Yeddyurappa had to quit as chief minister even without a floor test as he knew that it was not possible for him to prove his majority in the house as per the deadline set by the apex court. The entire drama has come to an end for now — or so it seems — but uncertain political events in the state in the coming days cannot be ruled out.

Janata Dal (Secular) leader and the chief ministerial candidate H.D. Kumaraswamy has been invited by the governor to take oath on Wednesday (May 23) and form the government. It is almost certain that he will be able to form the government with the Congress support and prove his majority at the floor of the legislative assembly. It is interesting to note that Kumaraswamy has only 38 members and he is going to head the government with the support of 78 legislators of the Congress. Once again the Congress has decided to support a non-Congress government not only to keep its bigger rival, the BJP, outside the government in Karnataka but also its course of action for the upcoming elections in some other states due in the next few months and, of course, the general elections of 2019.

The track record of the Congress party shows that it doesn’t support non-Congress governments for long. It didn’t allow any non-Congress government to complete its term when there was a non-Congress chief minister or the prime minister with its outside support. But now the circumstances are different. The Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in power in New Delhi and 21 other states. Congress has clearly lost this election. Although JD(S) didn’t get a majority but has retained its support base in different parts of the state. Both the parties together not only have the majority of seats but also garnered more than fifty percent vote share. They need to form a stable government that must come up to the expectations of the people of Karnataka. Congress should not only support Kumaraswamy from outside but be a part of the government in a responsible manner.

Both JD(S) and the Congress need to understand that this victory may be short-lived if they are not able to keep their folks together. Yeddyurappa and his party will keep approaching vulnerable MLAs from both parties and try to get their support to form the government. It is not an easy task for Kumaraswamy to keep everyone in his party and the Congress happy. In the coming days, those who do not get ministerial berths or other creamy positions in the government, may create problems for both parties. Under these circumstances we may not see a very clean and efficient government in Karnataka. There is going to be a lot of give and take in the coming days but it may still not guarantee a stable government in the state. A lot depends on the Congress Party and its legislators. Kumaraswamy has clearly said that there will be no rotational chief minister in Karnataka. This remark came before he traveled to New Delhi to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, signaling a rocky road ahead for the nascent alliance.

The writer can be reached at wazirakhtar@gmail.com


May 21, 2018
313 views
HIGHLIGHTS
World
5 hours ago

Trump’s Bible endorsement raises concern in Christian religious circles

World
5 hours ago

Colombia expels Argentine diplomats after Milei calls Petro ‘terrorist murderer’ 

World
5 hours ago

Bus carrying Easter worshippers falls off cliff killing 45 people in South Africa