Muddy Water Eddy

All through the past year, Karnataka바카라�s Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition has been grappl­ing with the discontent of leg­islators who were not happy at being left out of government. Now, after a stunning Lok Sabha verdict바카라�the coalition managed only two seats, while the BJP won 25 of the state바카라�s 28 parliamentary constituencies바카라�the tri­­cky task of keeping the flock toget­her has only got more pressing.

The immediate move, going by the ind­ications, to placate the malcontents will fill up vacancies in the council of ministers and bring in fresh faces. Both CM H.D. Kumaraswamy and his deputy G. Parameshwara have been sounding out some of the vocal MLAs, mostly Congressmen. For the coalition government, the Lok Sabha results have clearly brought matters to a head바카라�its survival depends on the two parties pulling tog­ether which, given the constant sniping so far, is a trapeze act in itself.

바카라�This mandate has been given for the national election and not the state,바카라� deputy CM Parameshwara told reporters a day after the results when state ministers met informally to take stock of the situation. 바카라�So, our coalition will continue under the leadership of H.D. Kum­ara­swamy and all our MLAs are with us,바카라� he said, accusing the opposition BJP of trying to destabilise the government.

The BJP, meanwhile, is keeping every­one guessing. In Karnataka바카라�s 225-member legislative assembly, the JD(S)-Congress coalition currently has 117 MLAs, including a BSP legislator who is supporting the government. The BJP last week gained a seat in the Chincholi bypoll, which takes its tally to 105, so it is short of a majority by eight seats. There are two other legislators in the assembly바카라�an independent and another from the regional outfit Karnataka Prajyavantha Janata Party. Over the past year, the BJP has made attempts to woo rebels in the ruling coalition, but without much success. Even last week, the BJP바카라�s state president B.S. Yeddyurappa predicted that the Kumaraswamy government would fall, which drew a rebuttal from Congress leader Siddaramaiah. The BJP, Siddaramaiah said, is claiming it will form the government despite not having the numbers. 바카라�This is not a new drama, but this is continuously misleading the public,바카라� Siddaramaiah tweeted.

The BJP maintains it바카라�s on a wait-and-watch mode. 바카라�Our stand, at present is, we are not in a hurry to topple the government and come to power here,바카라� says a BJP functionary. Currently on a high with its best-ever performance in a Lok Sabha election in Karnataka, its leaders have been hinting that they would rather face an assembly election than woo Congress rebels to defect. But, even then, there바카라�s been enough grist for the mills with two Congress legislators바카라�Ramesh Jarkiholi and K. Sudhakar바카라�calling on BJP leader S.M. Krishna earlier this week.

바카라�The Lok Sabha results have boosted the morale of the BJP,바카라� says political commentator Harish Ramaswamy. 바카라�Both the JD(S) and the Congress are facing crucial questions.바카라� When the two parties came together to form the government in May 2018, the big milestone everybody pointed to was the parliamentary election바카라�again, the survival of the coalition government, most leaders pointed out all these months, hinged on the Lok Sabha result.

But with their calculations going awry, the combine has little choice but to stick together, says Ramaswamy. Yet, challenges remain. Following the results, many leaders admitted that the Lok Sabha seat-sharing alliance didn바카라�t work for either parties바카라�among the biggest upsets were in Tumkur, where JD(S) sup­remo H.D. Deve Gowda narrowly lost, and in Mandya, where Kumaraswamy바카라�s son Nikhil was a candidate. The BJP, meanwhile, has made inroads into parts of southern Karnataka, a region where the Congress and JD(S) have traditionally been strong.

Before the verdict, the squabbling ­between Congress and JD(S) leaders had spilt out into the open. The Lok Sabha results have now muddied the waters further. The Karnataka conundrum continues.

By Ajay Sukumaran in Bangalore