A day after going back on his words to support the BJP, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy is facing an uphill task of keeping the party MLAs together.

The unilateral decision to topple the seven-day old B S Yeddyurappa by JD (S) Supremo Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy, has irked almost all MLAs. While some expressed their discontentment openly, others voiced their ire to Kumaraswamy in their own way.

“The fact that most of the MLAs have left for their constituencies without informing the Legislature Party leader, is a proof enough of their dissatisfaction,” sources said. The party legislators wanted to avoid going to polls with the ‘betrayal’ tag when Kumaraswamy refused to transfer power on Oct 3. But, they forced father-son duo to re-align with the BJP.

Wishes
However, Gowda and sons manoeuvred the situation in such a way that, at last, things worked as per their wishes (to avoid the saffron party holding the reins of power and to go for polls). And it is back to square one for the party MLAs. They have to face elections with ‘betrayal’ tag.

“How can we show our face to people of our constituency?. What reason should be given for toppling Yeddyurappa’s Government?” MLAs, who met Kumaraswamy on Tuesday, are quoted as asking.

As many as 15 legislators are learnt to have expressed their ire to Kumaraswamy. They have also reiterated their inability to face the elections and pleaded Kumaraswamy to explore possibilities to avoid the polls.

What has worried Kumaraswamy is that his one-time close-confident N Chaluvarayaswamy also turning against him. Chaluvarayaswamy had threatened to quit the party opposing the decision to ‘ditch’ the BJP in the JDSLP meeting on Monday. Rumours were rife with the political circles on Tuesday morning that some MLAs, including Chaluvarayaswamy, are planning to quit the party.

Split
It is quite possible, sources said, that rival parties may try to engineer a split in the JD (S). “If the party leaders are not careful at this juncture, rival parties easily damage and destroy a party where there is discontentment,” sources said. When contacted, Chaluvarayaswamy said that personal views are different from the party decisions. The decision of the party is always supreme and one has to go by it. “We will hold a meeting soon after Gowda returns from Delhi and work out the party’s future course of action,” he added.

Is Kumaraswamy really going to launch a new party? Though the former CM said he is under pressure to launch a new outfit, the party insiders said that it is aimed at restoring his ‘image’ in the public eye that he is not part of Gowda’s move to topple the BJP Government. Besides, he also wants to convince his MLAs that he is ready to abandon his father for their sake, the sources pointed out.