A progressive, forward-looking state not long ago, Karnataka has unfortunately turned into a political chessboard for three major political formations. Going by their words and deeds over the last three weeks, it can only be surmised that all of them stand condemned before the people’s court.

The fractured mandate of 2004 Assembly elections meant that there was no option before them but to work as a coalition. There is any number of examples around the world of political parties of extreme, divergent views cohabiting in a government and working for the common good.

In our own backyard, two successive coalition governments at the Centre – of 13 and 24 parties respectively – which have worked smoothly, by and large, should have been a model for Karnataka. But it was not to be so.
In Karnataka, a “natural” coalition between the Congress and the JD(S), which was abruptly terminated after 20 months on flimsy grounds, was replaced by an “unnatural” one. That too suffered an untimely death not because of any ideological differences – the only ideology they seemed to believe in was hanging on to power – but because of breach of trust.

There have been  many twists and turns in the last three weeks. First, the Congress tried to lure M P Prakash into its fold and failed. Thwarting that move, BJP and the JD(S) have come together again and staked claim to form the government. If democracy is only a game of numbers, there is no whiff of doubt that they command the majority and in a normal situation, should have been invited to form the government without much ado.
 Then, why is Governor Ramashwar Thakur dilly-dallying over the issue? Because…
BJP:

Hankering for power
 
Having come to power through the back-door, the BJP has displayed a completely unprincipled and opportunistic politics. It took the moral high ground and withdrew support to the Kumarasamy government, which was the right thing to do, when JD(S) failed to honour the commitment to the party.

It launched an agitation in the “janata nyalayala” over the betrayal of a promise. If the party had opted to go before the people on this issue, it perhaps stood a good chance of convincing the electorate that they deserve to get a chance. But, the leaders were so desperate for power that at a mere wink from the JD(S), they abandoned their agitation, forgot all the abuses the leaders had hurled at each other and got ready to form the government.
Now, where is the guarantee they will stick together and provide a reasonably stable government? How can they trust Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy, who had termed that it is “dangerous” to give power in the hands of a “communal” party? How can the BJP be believed not to repeat the communal discord it fostered when it was in power?

JD(S): Lacking credibility
 
The JD(S) lost credibility in the eyes of the people the moment it switched sides from the Congress to the BJP.  It lost further credibility when senior leaders were humiliated and thrown out of the party and ultimately, broke a solemn promise.

The party encouraged senior leader Prakash to hold negotiations with the Congress for renewal of alliance, but when it appeared that he may walk away with the trophy marginalising the “family,” it changed track and decided to embrace the BJP once again.

The 12-point MoU that  Gowda has put forward even before the formation of the government is a harbinger of things to come and the alliance can be anything but stable. Gowda has enjoyed being the “master puppeteer” over political destinies in Karnataka over the last three and a half years and he refuses to abdicate that role.

Congress: Caught in a bind

When Kumaraswamy quit, all the three parties had requested for dissolution  and with the government in its hands at the Centre, Congress could have done so without inviting any controversies. But it tried to fish in troubled waters and now finds itself in a piquant situation.

Governor Thakur has opened himself to criticism because the cheerful readiness with which he recommended President’s rule  is missing in taking a decision on the BJP-JD(S) claim to form a new government. The delay is fueling speculation that the Congress now wants Parliament to rubber-stamp its design to dissolve the House. But in the light of recent Supreme Court verdicts, it will not be an easy decision to take and
digest for the Congress.

A view seems to be gaining ground within the Congress leadership to let the BJP-JD(S) form the government and allow them to stew in their own internal contradictions, which is all too apparent. It will also take away the halo of martyrdom from the BJP. But, the state Congress leaders want nothing less than dissolution.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has a crucial decision to make. A decision which could make or mar the Congress party’s prospects in Karnataka in the foreseable future.



Girish Karnad
Playwright, Actor
The head count that the BJP-JD(S) combine offered at Raj Bhavan the other day was pointless because nobody doubted their majority. In fact, they had the majority when they resigned. They betrayed the legislature and the people by creating a crisis among themselves when one of the parties did not get chief ministership.
There is no point comparing with the Bommai case because the situation is entirely different. The two parties (through their fights) have confessed that they are not competent to rule and having voluntarily abdicated power, have no moral right now to demand that they should be given another chance. Let them go back to the people and if they get re-elected it is fine.


Hampa Nagarajaiah
Former President, Sahitya Parishat
The coalition partners have realised their mistake and are repentant. Since they command the majority, they should be given another chance as per law. We should forget what happend in the past and not indulge in post-mortem in the interest of the people. The state is in no position to bear the burden of another election.

Baragur Ramachandrappa
Former Chairman,
Kannada Development Authority
What we are witnessing now is an extreme state of feudal and power politics within the so-called democracy. Political values and ideologies have been thrown to the winds. The parties are deliberately creating uncertainties for their own benefit. The present imbraglio should be resolved by referring to Constitutional provisions and earlier judgements. The people have to be educated about the growing threat of communalism.

Devanur Mahadeva
Writer
We expect the legislators, who are people’s representatives, to uphold the honour and dignity of the state. But, through interminable fights followed up by patch-up, they have become the laughing stock of the country. Fresh election is the only option to get over this embarrassment and insult to the state.

The problem is that the legislators have grown so arrogant that they no longer respect the voters. They think they can somehow get elected through rigging and buying of votes. By not transfering power, the JD(S) betrayed the people, not just the BJP. But, BJP is no holy cow as it has tried to grow by sowing enmity among people of different religions.

All the President’s men

Dharam Vira presided over President’s rule for one year from March 1971 to March 1972. Had excellent advisers and gave good administration. Veerendra Patil, who was the Cong (O) Chief Minister was forced to quit when Cong(I) won all the 27 Lok Sabha seats and he found his MLAs deserting him. Then PCC president Devraj Urs
prevailed upon Indira Gandhi to impose President’s rule.  

Govind Narain ruled for a month and 20 days from Dec 31,1977 to Feb 20, 1978. With the advent of Janata Party
government at the Centre, Chief Minister Devraj Urs found his majority being challenged by the Cong (Brahmananda Reddy) group led by K H Patil and Deve Gowda of JP. Govind Narain ordered a head count at Raj Bhavan for the first time. When Speaker Nagaratnamma, who was at loggerheads with Urs concurred that he had lost majority, Urs resigned.

Venkatasubbaiah imposed President’s rule in April, 1989 under most controversial circumstances. S R Bommai was the Chief Minister. Nineteen MLAs led by Molkeri marched to Raj Bhavan and declared they had withdrawn support. Bommai paraded 128 MLAs in his support and fixed an Assembly session to prove his majority. But the Centre acted swiftly on Venkatasubbaiah’s report and imposed President’s rule which lasted seven months. Bommai won a famous case in the Supreme Court and Centre got a rap, but Bommai remained with the tag “former CM.”

Bhanu Pratap Singh had a short seven-day tenure in October 1990 when Veerendra Patil, in his second avatar as CM, fell ill to a debilitating stroke and got the sacking from Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi when he refused to resign. The Congress government was restored with S Bangarappa as Chief Minister.

Rameshwar Thakur who took charge as Governor of Karnataka only a month ago, assumed the hot seat on October 9, 2007 after H D Kumaraswamy resigned as Chief Minister. Though he is being criticised for delaying his final recommendation to the Centre, he has so far gone by the rule book. Going by the Supreme Court verdicts, he recommended President’s rule, leaving the issue of dissolution to Parliament. He has been hearing all shades of opinion on the question of dissolution of the Assembly, but kept the cards close to his chest. He even allowed the BJP-JD(S) combine to demonstrate its strength at Raj Bhavan. His next step is being closely watched.