Bangalore, January 18
Playing the role of an errant son, H. D. Kumaraswamy today cast off the secular cloak of his father and former Prime Minister H.D. Dewe Gowda to shake hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and stake his claim to form a government in Karnataka.
Mr Kumaraswamy took a bus load of 46 legislators of the Janata Dal (Secular) to meet Governor T.N. Chaturvedi in the evening today and staked claim to form a government with the support of the BJP.
Mr Dewe Gowda, who had been claiming since morning there was no question of teaming up with the BJP, has adopted a strident stance.
The former Prime Minister has written to the Assembly Speaker demanding the Kumaraswamy group not be given recognition. He has also claimed that Mr M.P. Prakash, who is the legislature party leader, could alone take a decision on the issue. Only Mr Prakash and senior Minister P.G.R Sindhia were at his house today even as Mr Kumaraswamy was staking his claim with the Governor to form a government.
A 79-member strong group of the BJP also trooped to the Raj Bhawan late today evening signaling the end of the road for the Congress-led Dharam Singh government. Senior BJP leader Venkaih Naidu disclosed that the BJP would extend support to the JD(S) led by Mr Kumaraswamy.
Mr Kumaraswamy himself went to the residence of BJP State leader B.S. Yediyurappa immediately after coming out of the Raj Bhawan.
JD (S) sources said an agreement had been hammered out. They said the J&K formula of government formation would be followed. Mr Kumaraswamy would take oath as Chief Minister for a period of twenty months with the BJP occupying the Deputy Chief Minister’s post. The roles would be reversed
after twenty months with Mr B.S. Yediyurappa likely to be the nominee of the BJP when it gets its shot at the top job.
With the fall of his government imminent, Congress Chief Minister Dharam Singh called a meeting of his Cabinet at his residence late today evening.
JD(S) ministers will not be represented with seven of them handing over their resignations to the Governor.
According to JD(S) sources, Mr Kumaraswamy has the support of 47 of the 57 party legislators. The JD (S) has also lobbied and acquired the support of six independents and could see a further increase in its figures in the coming days. The BJP has the highest bench strength of 79 in the Assembly followed by the Congress with 65 members.
According to sources, Mr Kumaraswamy had seized the initiative after uncertainty created by his father. Mr Dewe Gowda had recently threatened to withdraw support to the Congress if it stuck to its decision to form an alliance with the All India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD) led by Mr Siddaramaiah. The latter was thrown out of the JD(S) after he questioned Mr Dewe Gowda’s style of functioning. However, Mr Dewe Gowda had given the Congress a long rope stating he would hold a meeting of the party legislature group on February 8 and convey the decision of the party to Congress President Sonia Gandhi on February 9.
Politics in Karnataka is in a state of flux with new developments. The JD(S) had refused to join hands with the BJP to form a government after the last Assembly elections because of the stated secular credentials of its leader Mr Dewe Gowda.
