Outlook – July 20, 2019

by Ajay Sukumaran in Bangalore

T

he cracks that Karnataka’s

Congress-Janata Dal (Secular)

coalition tried to paper over

for the past year are widening

fast and dramatically, pushing

the h.D. Kumaraswamy-led

government to the brink. Days after

14 legislators sent in their resigna-

tion letters, the future of the Cong-

ress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition is

no clearer at the time of going to

press, but a full-blown crisis is cer-

tainly at hand. Things will likely to

come to a head this week—the Karna-

taka assembly convenes on July 12

and Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar will

meet some of the legislators to decide

on their resignations.

In Karnataka, there is a weary sense

of deja vu—a decade ago, when state

elections last threw up a hung assembly,

it was a BJP government which had

struggled with rebel MLAs who were

shunted to resorts far away from

Bangalore. It’s a repeat of those scenes

now—many Congress and JD(S) MLAs

are holding out from a Mumbai hotel

where they have been holed up since

the crisis began. There are no signs of a

thaw yet.

The Congress offered to recast the

cabinet to accommodate some of the

rebels and asked all its ministers to

step down; it threatened to invoke the

anti-defection law against some MLAs;

and it dispatched senior leader Ghulam

Nabi Azad to Bangalore and Karnataka

Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar to

Mumbai to salvage the situation.

Shivakumar, a troubleshooter for the

party, couldn’t get into the hotel as the

rebels not only refused to meet him but

also called for police protection.

The BJP is demanding Kumara-

swamy’s resignation, arguing that he

has lost the majority. “If the Speaker

accepts the resignations without delay,

there won’t be any question of holding

an assembly session,” BJP state presi-

dent B.S. Yeddyurappa told reporters

on July 10. “They have no moral right to

continue. Their strength has reduced to

103 MLAs, but the BJP has 107-108.

That is why I have requested the gover-

nor to ask the Speaker to take necessary

action immediately.”

The Congress, however, is blaming the

BJP for the ongoing imbroglio, accusing

it of horse-trading in a bid to topple the

government. “The BJP didn’t get a

mandate in the state elections. But they

have been relentlessly trying to destabi-

lise the Karnataka government,”

claimed Congress leader Siddaramaiah.

The BJP’s top leaders have countered

the allegation saying the coalition was

crumbling on its own. The Karnataka

crisis echoed in Parliament too as

Congress MPs staged protests.

Here is a quick recap of the flurry of

events: Anand Singh, Congress legisla-

tor from Bellary, set the ball rolling on

July 1 by sending his resignation to the

Speaker. Chief minister Kuma raswamy

Trading horses

12 OutlOOk 22 July 2019

Mutiny on HD Karna taka

Can the Congress-JD(S) government survive after the resignation of 14 MLAs?

Scene kya hai?

a FLOOR

TeST

cM

ReSiGnS?

The

MaThS

Karnataka’s assembly

convenes Friday. It will

take up the finance bill

this July session, which

will practically be a floor

test for the JD(S)-

Congress government.

But things could change

before that; like the

governor can ask the

CM to take a vote of

confidence.

If the Congress-JD(S)

coalition isn’t able to

woo back its legislators,

CM Kumaraswamy

might resign without

facing a floor test—a

situation similar to

what BJP’s B.S.

Yeddyurappa faced in

May 2018 when he

resigned as CM.

BJP emerges single-largest

party in 2018 assembly polls

but falls short of a simple

majority—a party needs 113

MLAs in the 224-member

House. BJP’s tally is 105,

currently. The Congress-JD(S)

coalition has 117, plus a BSP

MLA. Resignations can reduce

the majority mark to 106,

giving BJP its best shot. Two

Independent MLAs back BJP.

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