Despite a bitter experience of coalition in the past, the two parties now seem set to negotiate anew. However, leaders of both parties remained tight-lipped, unwilling to divulge details.
“Politics is the art of the possible,” is a remark attributed to the Iron Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck.
As the state government teeters on the edge, opposition JD(S) and Congress have been attempting to cobble up a coalition that could take over the reins of governance.
Despite a bitter experience of coalition in the past, the two parties now seem set to negotiate anew. However, leaders of both parties remained tight-lipped, unwilling to divulge details.
Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy is believed to have played a significant role in convincing a section of the BJP MLAs to rebel against the party. Asked of his future plans, he dodged a question about whether his party would align with the Congress.
Pressed to answer questions about whether the state could see a coalition government, Kumaraswamy said, “Let’s not talk about hypothetical situations.
It’s hard to anticipate at this point what the options would be.” However, there is no doubt that with only 28 MLAs in the 224-member house, the JD(S) would be in no position to form a government of its own. Counselling patience, the JD(S) state president said, “Wait and see, there is surprise in store for the people of the state. The corrupt BJP government will soon come to an end.”
It is well known now that Kumaraswamy held “secret parleys” with the leader of the Opposition in the legislative assembly, Siddaramaiah, in the city last week. What transpired at the meeting is not known, but JD(S) sources did not rule out the possibility that the two leaders were acting in concert while shaking the foundations of the Yeddyurappa government. Asked about the likelihood of the JD(S) and the Congress entering into coalition, an office-bearer of the KPCC said, “Anything is possible in politics.”
The Congress has remained, for all appearances, a spectator in the present political crisis. However, it is widely believed that the Congress too has been in cahoots with the JD(S) in engineering the crisis in the ruling party. Anxious not to appear over-eager to return to power, the party has maintained a studied distance from recent political developments.
Any action that might betray a hunger for power might affect the party’s electoral prospects, in the event of a mid-term poll. KPCC president RV Deshpande has consistently maintained that the Congress would do nothing to precipitate matters.
A coalition between the JD(S) and the Congress is likely to be quite unstable.
It may be recalled that in 2006, a coalition between the two parties with the Congress’s Dharam Singh as chief minister fell after a mere 18 months in office. At that time, Congress functionaries resented the frequent diktats issued by the JD(S) supremo, HD Deve Gowda.
There is fear that if the two parties come together again to form government, a similar situation might arise again.
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