BJP to wait and watch amid coalition's confusion

The BJP has decided not to take advantage of the turbulence in the Congress-JD(S) coalition, the party’s state president B S Yeddyurappa said on Tuesday.

“There’s no clarity on anything and there’s total confusion. (Former chief minister) Siddaramaiah makes one statement, while Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy makes another. In such a scenario, we’d not like to interfere. I’ve requested our leaders to say nothing,” Yeddyurappa told reporters here.

Alliance partners Congress and JD(S), especially Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy, are sparring over whether or not a full-fledged budget should be tabled on July 5, given that the Congress had tabled one in February 2018.

The upcoming budget session is an example of the prevailing confusion in the coalition government, Yeddyurappa pointed out. “It’s a tradition for many years now that there has to be 15 days notice before the legislative session is convened. Nobody in the opposition has been notified, which means we’ll have less time to prepare our questions,” he said.

Yeddyurappa’s meeting with BJP state president Amit Shah in Ahmedabad on Monday led to speculation that the saffron party was plotting to destabilize the Congress-JD(S) coalition. “I met him to extend an invitation for the party’s state executive committee meeting on June 29,” Yeddyurappa clarified.

However, Yeddyurappa said the state’s political scenario will come up for discussion in the party’s state executive committee meeting. “Till then, we’ll only observe silently. We’ll work as a responsible opposition,” he said.

The executive committee will also discuss the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah want the party to win as many seats as possible in Karnataka. We have to start preparing,” Yeddyurappa said.

The BJP chief also ruled out an early Lok Sabha election. “That question doesn’t arise. The government at the Centre will complete its full term and Modi will be re-elected,” he said.