Karnataka imbroglio

Karnataka imbroglio

Kumaraswamy government wobbles again from fresh rebellion.

The Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka is on the brink of collapse after 13 MLAs – 10 from Congress and three from JD(S) – tendered their resignation over the weekend. The rebel MLAs then checked into a luxury hotel in Mumbai, with reports coming in of senior BJP leaders being in touch with them. The latter, however, have vehemently denied this and asserted that the Karnataka government’s woes are of its own making.

There’s no denying that the HD Kumaraswamy government has appeared brittle from day one. This is because the Congress-JD(S) alliance was formed to ward off an existential crisis for both parties in Karnataka. While BJP had emerged as the single largest party after the assembly polls in the state last year, Congress and JD(S) came together to form the government despite having fought bitterly against each other in the election. In fact, Congress and JD(S) have been traditional rivals in the Old Mysore region of the state. Furthermore, despite being the senior partner in the coalition, Congress has had to cede the CM’s post to JD(S) – which cannot but have been resented by many Congress leaders, including supporters of former CM Siddaramaiah.

Plus the Lok Sabha elections result, where BJP swept Karnataka winning 25 out of 28 seats despite Congress and JD(S) fighting the polls together, heaped more pressure on the coalition. And with the Congress central leadership itself in disarray following Rahul Gandhi’s resignation as party president, many Karnataka Congress MLAs may now feel they have no future in the party. Additionally, the coalition government has used the lure of plump ministerial portfolios to keep the Congress-JD(S) flock together. But the clear flaw in this strategy is that those not accommodated as ministers are bound to raise the rebellion flag.

As this goes to print, the Kumaraswamy government is trying desperately to resolve the crisis by restructuring the Cabinet. All current Congress and JD(S) ministers have quit their posts to facilitate this. But it remains to be seen if the rebel MLAs will be placated since it would be only a matter of time before other MLAs rebel demanding similar incentives. And with BJP waiting in the wings to scoop up any dissidents – as has been the case in other states such as Bengal – the Kumaraswamy government appears to be living on borrowed time.