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Karnataka : Congress heads new coalition |
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After two weeks of uncertainty, the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka agreed on a post-election coalition government headed by Dharam Singh of the Congress. Although the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single largest party in the Legislative Assembly, it was clear from the beginning that only a coalition of the Congress and the JD(S) would be able to command a majority in the newly elected House. With the secular credentials of the JD(S) led by former Prime Minister Deve Gowda never in doubt, what needed to be settled were the terms of the power-sharing arrangement. To the credit of Gowda and his party, the tussle over the Chief Ministership was not allowed to overshadow the objective of providing a stable, secular alternative.
The Congress leader, Dharam Singh Narayan Singh, and the State president of the Janata Dal (Secular), Siddaramaiah, have been sworn in as the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister.
The post of Chief Minister was important to both parties as it would shape the image of the new government. If S.M. Krishna were to have returned as Chief Minister, the new government would have been seen as a continuation of the past. On the other hand, a JD(S) Chief Minister would have been seen as a radical break from the policies of the previous government. The present arrangement is a compromise. Dharam Singh was acceptable to the JD(S) as he was seen as more accommodative to its interests. Also, as a person hailing from a social group (Rajput community) that is not dominant in the State’s politics, the JD(S) saw no political threat in his leading the coalition government.
Analysts, however, say that parliamentary democratic convention and good practice derived from it required that the Congress, which lost its majority and mandate in this election because of a significant negative swing in the popular vote, yield the leadership of the new government to its ally, the JD(S). The Congress should have allowed the JD(S) to chalk out a new beginning for the coalition government. The JD(S) was after all the biggest gainer in the current election. Although it trailed the BJP and the Congress, the party’s vote share of 20.77 per cent showed a gain of 10.35 percentage points. The Congress high command apparently failed to appreciate the long-term gains of stepping aside in favour of the JD(S).
Clearly, at least in the popular perception, the Congress paid for mismanagement of drought relief, one-sided emphasis on IT, and the pursuit of economic reforms without regard to the livelihood concerns of the vast majority of the people.
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