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Karnataka sweepstakes : BJP, JD(S) come together again |
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In a surprise development, the Janata Dal (Secular) which had refused to handover power to its coalition partner, the BJP a fortnight ago under the power-sharing deal, which led to the imposition of President’s Rule in Karnataka, has extended uncon¬ditional support to the BJP. The BJP, in its term, has staked its claim to form a government.
The two parties together enjoy a comfortable majority of 136 in the 224-member Assembly. With the JD(S) also conveying to the Governor its support to the BJP and the leadership of former Deputy Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa, the ball is now in his court.
Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and JD (S) State president Merajuddin Patel have also sent a letter to President Pratibha Patil.
A BJP delegation that included senior vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu and Yediyurappa called on Governor Rameshwar Thakur, and submitted a letter asking that the party be allowed to form the government.
President’s Rule has to be revoked before the Governor can act on the demand made by the BJP and the JD(S).
The 12th Assembly was kept under suspended animation after Kumaraswamy submitted his resignation to the Governor on October 8. Both the Congress and the BJP had written to the Governor expressing their keenness on fresh elections.
Kumaraswamy told reporters that his party’s action became necessary in view of the “attempts by the Congress to break the JD(S)” since 2006. The JD(S) leadership has been under pressure for the past two weeks from the party legislators who do not want early elections.
Reports say that the breakthrough in relations between the BJP and the JDS came when Deve Gowda talked to BJP president Rajnath Singh over telephone and offered unconditional support to the BJP in forming the Government. The JD(S) reportedly spurted into action after a group in the party led by former Deputy Chief Minister M.P. Prakash started a dialogue with the Congress leadership on forming a government.
The BJP said that the two parties will have an alliance in case of Lok Sabha elections. But JD(S) national president Deve Gowda said that the party had only extended unconditional support to the BJP in forming a government in Karnataka, it has not entered into a long-term electoral understanding with the BJP.
M.P. Prakash had met Congress leaders on Oct. 23 seeking an alliance to form a Government. Later last week, the JD(S) lead¬ership had decided to back M.P. Prakash if the Congress offered him the Chief-ministership. It is not certain now how the M.P. Prakash group will react to the tie up between the BJP and the JD(S).
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