Kumaraswamy will have a tough time dealing with opposition pressure, coalition compulsions and intra-party feud.
Twelve years ago, a first-time MLA of the Janata Dal (Secular) was crowned the chief minister of Karnataka. H.D. Kumaraswamy, son of former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, took charge in February 2006, with the support of the BJP. Kumaraswamy is back at the helm once again, following an unexpected political manoeuvre by the Congress to keep out the BJP, which emerged as the single largest party in the recent assembly elections.
The BJP’s tally of 104 fell short of majority, and the Congress, wiser from its experiences in Goa, Manipur and Bihar, moved swiftly. Despite coming second with 78 seats, it offered the post of chief minister to the JD(S), which finished third with 37 seats.
Governor Vajubhai Vala, however, invited BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa to form the government and gave him 15 days to prove his majority. The Congress-JD(S) alliance approached the Supreme Court, which gave Yeddyurappa just a day to seek the trust vote. Worried about poaching by the BJP, the Congress moved its MLAs to a resort near Bengaluru, and later to Hyderabad. The JD(S) also took its MLAs to Hyderabad. Unable to engineer a majority, Yeddyurappa announced his resignation before the floor test.
The governor subsequently invited Kumaraswamy to form the government. He took oath as chief minister on May 23. State Congress president G. Parameshwara was sworn in as deputy chief minister. The Congress has nominated Ramesh Kumar as the speaker candidate of the alliance, while the deputy speaker’s post will be held by the JD(S). The Kumaraswamy cabinet will have 22 ministers from the Congress and 12 from the JD(S).
This story is from the June 03, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the June 03, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
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