One year down, will HD Kumaraswamy government get a second?

BENGALURU: HD Kumaraswamy is set to complete one year as chief minister of the JD(S)-Congress government under the shadow of the exit polls, which, if forecast right, could spell serious trouble for his government. The state government, which has been tottering for the better part of its tenure, could yet crumble and fall if the Modi government sweeps to power on Thursday.



As per the exit polls , the Congress-JD(S) coalition is winning just 5-11 seats and the BJP 18-21 seats of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka. Many think that the coalition will be under trouble if the exit polls match the actual result. Some see an end to the coalition in such a situation.

“The primary object of this alliance was to win more seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Now that the very object is appearing to be defeated, there is no point in continuing with the JD(S),” said a senior Congress leader.

It is not for the first time that questions over the stability of the coalition government have been raised. From the day it came into existence on May 23, 2018, the government has been on a sticky wicket and failed to give an assurance that it is a ‘stable and performing’ dispensation.

Thanks to the trust deficit among coalition partners, continued efforts by former CM Siddaramaiah to take control over the government and the dissidence by former Congress minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, the work done by the Kumaraswamy government — by way of waiving of farm loans or initiating some big-ticket infrastructure projects in Bengaluru — has been completely overshadowed.

Adding to the coalition’s problems were BJP’s relentless efforts to dislodge the government by making some of the coalition MLAs resign. This has left the people wondering who really will deliver the last blow to the government, the BJP or the Congress?

The coalition government was stitched out of compulsion and not by choice with a sole intention of keeping the BJP out of power. Majority of the Congress MLAs were and still are upset with the ‘unilateral’ decision of AICC president Rahul Gandhi to give the chief minister’s post to the JD(S), a junior partner in the coalition with just 37 seats. Many think it was a hasty decision but were forced to accept it.

This simmering displeasure, which exploded on many occasions during the cabinet expansion and on the pretext of a discrimination in allocation of funds to the MLAs, has taken a toll on Kumaraswamy and his government.

Kumaraswamy, who was sworn in as the chief minister on May 23, 2018, has survived three serious crises aimed at dislodging or destabilising his government in the past one year. First one was obviously the ‘Siddaramaiah as CM’ campaign started by the former CM’s supporters. What started as a chorus became a campaign, much to the annoyance of Kumaraswamy. However, the intervention of Rahul, after a nudge by JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, put a halt to that campaign.

The chorus has not completely stopped, and Congress MLAs keep raising it every now and then. The dissidence by Ramesh and team, triggered by the alleged interference of water resources minister DK Shivakumar in the Belagavi district politics, was another crisis that had brought the coalition government on the verge of collapse around the budget session. About five MLAs, including Ramesh, supported by BJP camped in Mumbai and refused to attend the session.

The dissidents had sent jitters down the spine of this government after they were successful in making two independents withdraw their support to the government. However, the Congress high command reined them in through a stern warning of getting them disqualified.

Dissidence continues with Ramesh announcing that he would resign his assembly membership, soon. He is trying to get three to four Congress MLAs to resign along with him to ensure the fall of the government.

KEY MOMENTS OF COALITION DRAMA
* A section of Congress MLAs turned informal demand of ‘Siddaramaiah as CM’ into a fullfledged campaign, much to Kumaraswamy’s annoyance. At one point, HD Deve Gowda had to ask Congress president Rahul Gandhi to rein in Siddaramaiah’s supporters. The campaign has not completely died down yet.

* Siddaramaiah’s frequent meetings with Congress MLAs created further tensions.

* Disgruntled Congress legislators camped in Mumbai and other places, unnerving the JD(S).

* Just ahead of the budget session, former Congress minister Ramesh Jarkiholi reportedly persuaded two independent MLAs to withdraw support.

* BJP made relentless efforts to dislodge the government by prodding some MLAs to resign.

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