As M P Prakash lost the numbers game on Monday, JD(S) MLAs including B C Patil, Vishwanath Patil, Sharanabasappa Darshnapur, M Y Patil, Veerabasantha Reddy, K N Rajanna and Raju Gowda were among those who deserted him to join the Kumaraswamy group.
These MLAs even filed affidavits before the Governor, supporting their party’s decision to form the coalition government with the BJP.
With this, Prakash’s efforts for a coalition government with the Congress lay in tatters.
JD(S) MLA Cheluvarayaswamy’s attempt to deter him from his efforts were in vain. Cheluvarayaswamy succeeded in winning back a majority of the Prakash camp followers though.
Monday dawned on a different note as the Kumaraswamy camp found itself on a shaky ground, without sufficient numbers for a joint legislature party meeting with the BJP. Kumaraswamy rushed Cheluvarayaswamy to Prakash. The former chief minister, meanwhile, managed to rope in independent MLAs and JD(U) MLAs.
But the tables were turned on Prakash by the evening. The Kumaraswamy camp’s strength rose to 49 (41 MLAs who won on the JD(S) symbol, five independent MLAs and three JD(U) MLAs).
It was not only the Deve Gowda family which let down Prakash, but several Congress leaders who had their own personal agenda, betrayed him.
According to insiders, several senior Congressmen advised Prakash not to antagonise Deve Gowda. They suggested him to convince Gowda to support the Congress. These leaders also made no secret of their chief ministerial ambitions, in such an event.
However, the sources said, it was Siddaramaiah who asked him to stick to his anti-Gowda stand and assured him of all support.
‘No regrets’
While Kumaraswamy had his way, Prakash was left in the lurch. “I did not force any MLA to stay with me. I asked them to make their choice. I have no regrets over their decision,” he later told reporters.
It is said that when Prakash’s supporters quizzed him on whether he would be able to form the government with the help of the Congress, he realised that they were feeling insecure. Then, he told them that they were free to go with Kumaraswamy, if they desired so.
He also said it would be unfair on his part to oppose B S Yeddyurappa’s efforts to become CM. “Such efforts by me would be sending a wrong signal to Lingayats. So, you can make your choice,” he is said to have told his loyalists, who lost no time in boarding the Kumaraswamy bandwagon.
