the SupremeCourtwhere the rebels
pleadedthatan orderbe issuedto the
Speaker to ruleon the validityof the
resignations.However,thishas been
cloudedby the factthatdisqualifica-
tionnoticeshavebeenissuedto at
leastsomeof the legislatorsby their
party leadership. The question
whetherthe Speakerwouldfirst con-
sidertheissueof disqualificationor
the validity of their resignations
couldwelldecidethefuture of the
Kumaraswamygovernment.
In terms of immediatesurvival,
disqualificationof the MLAsmatters
littleto thecoalition.TheCongress
or the JD(S) canonlydrawsatisfac-
tionfromhaving punishedthe rebels
because theywouldbe unableto be-
comeMLAs for six years following
disqualification, butthatoffers little
succourto a tottering coalition.
The exit of 16 legislators—13
fromtheCongressandthreefrom
theJD(S)—from theAssemblywill
bringthecombine’sstrengthdown
to 99 in an Assemblywitha current
effective strength of 223.Thecom-
binewillbe in a minorityif the resig-
nations are upheld.
In sucha situation,the BJP,with
105 members in a Housewithan
effective strengthof 207members,
would be sitting pretty but just
about.It canalsocounton thesup-
portof the twoindependents.
It appears thatthe groundrealit-
ies of politicsas an enterprisecould
havean impacton howthelegislat-
ors—onall sidesof the political spec-
trum—behave in the immediate
future. As of now,Kumaraswamy
hasboughttwoweeks’timeto woo
the legislatorsbackto the coalition.
According toPracticeandPro-
cedureof Parliamentby M.N.Kaul
andS.L.Shakdher, whichis conven-
tionally followedin theState As-
sembly,theSpeaker canallow a
confidence motion in twoweeks.Ku-
maraswamy, by pre-empting the
BJP’sno-confidencemotion,is ex-
pectedto offer ministerialberthsto
thedisgruntledMLAs.Allthe 32
Ministers,exceptthe Chief Minister,
havesubmittedtheirresignationsto
theirpartypresidentsin orderto cre-
atevacanciesforhopefulsif they
wishedto return.
It is obviousthatthe chieflegis-
latorsresignedbecausetheywerenot
made Ministers. However, under
Article72 of the Constitution, which
limitsthe sizeof a Ministryto 15 per
centof theelectedmembers of the
legislature (91st Amendment), a
House of 225 can onlyhave 33
Ministers.
SeniorCongressleaderssuchas
former Chief Minister Siddara-
maiah,formerMinistersH.K.Patil
andRamalingaReddy andJD(S)
leaderssuch as former Ministers
Basavaraj Horatti andAdagur Vish-
wanathwerekeptout of the Ministry
in thehope thattheywould under-
standtheconstraintsof coalition
politics. RamalingaReddy andVish-
wanathareamong thosewhohave
resigned.
Ramesh Jarkiholi and several
otherdisgruntled MLAshavesaid
thattheirpartieshad“nottreated
themwithrespect”,which,according
to Basavaraj Horatti, is codefor not
beingmadea Minister. “Youcan’t
makeeveryonea Minister.Thatis
impossible.If theyhatethisgovern-
mentso much,theChiefMinister
oughtto ratherresignandseeka
freshmandate,”he toldFrontline.GOVERNANCEATA STANDSTILL
As the government lurchedfromone
crisisto another,governance cameto
a standstill. Politicalobservers said
the massresignations amountedto a
betrayalof thepeople’strust.The
writerProf.R.K.Hudgisaid:“Why
did the people’srepresentativeshaveto resign?Whatinjusticewasdone
by theStategovernment to their
constituencies?”
He alsosaidthatonlya “lustfor
power”couldexplain theiraction.
Howeverhardtheymaydenyit, they
are all planningto jumpto the BJPin
thehopeof becomingMinistersin
the newgovernment, he added.
“This is a grossviolationof the
voters’trust.Thevotersshouldpun-
ish themby notsupportingthemif
theywereto contestbyelectionsas
BJPnominees,”he said.
Dilip Kamat,a socialactivistand
founder of a workers’ collective
calledGrakoos, said:“Thisgovern-
menthasbecomefamousfor all the
wrongreasons.It hasnotfulfilled
mostof its promisesmadein the last
Budget.It hasfailedto startrelief
worksevenwhenmostpartsof the
Statearesufferingfroma debilitat-
ingdrought.Ratherthanfocussing
on savingthefarmers in theircon-
stituenciesor developingtheirre-
gion,theMLAs havechosento run
awayto Mumbai for power and
money.”
Althoughthe BJPwillbe the key
beneficiaryof thecollapse of the
combine, it hasnotsoughtto forma
government. BJP State president
and former Chief Minister B.S.
Yeddyurappahasso far onlycalled
for the resignation of the Ku-
maraswamy government. Perhaps
he is chastenedby theexperience
afterthe 2018 Assemblyelection,
whenhe headeda two-daygovern-
ment before the Congress-JD(S)CONGRESSrebelMLA M.T.B.Nagraj (right) meeting former Chief Minister
Siddaramaiah,in Bengaluruon July 13.THEHINDU