Will Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy complete his five-year tenure? Speculation is rife in political circles that the JD(S)-Congress combine is at the risk of crumbling and that moves are being made to bring the government down before the Budget is presented.
The disagreement between leaders of the Congress and JD(S) was evident after a video of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressing his displeasure at Kumaraswamy presenting a new Budget went viral.
Kumaraswamy in turn lashed out at Siddaramaiah and, in a press conference on Monday, had said, “I am not at the mercy of anyone.”
Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition BS Yeddyurappa, who was CM only for two days, flew to Ahmedabad on Monday to meet BJP State President Amit Shah. Yeddyurappa, who was accompanied by leader Basavaraj Bommai, invited Shah to participate in the BJP executive committee meeting to be held on June 29.
Sources in the BJP said that although officially Yeddyurappa had gone to discuss the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections, he also submitted a list of disgruntled Congress MLAs to Amit Shah.
“Yeddyurappa wants to lure these MLAs to the BJP and table a no-confidence motion when the Assembly session starts on July 2. But Amit Shah has advised Yeddyurappa not to rush things. It has not yet been decided whether the BJP will hold talks with the Congress leaders who are unhappy. If they want to join the party, then they are welcome,” a source close to Yeddyurappa said.
Sources in the Congress said that although there are several differences between the JD(S) and the Congress leaders, the two parties are determined to keep the alliance intact.
“There is no other option but stay together. Both parties will lose out if there is bickering and there are some leaders who are trying to turn this issue of misunderstandings to benefit them. There will be differences in a coalition government and negotiations will be held to sort it out,” a Congress leader said.
Meanwhile, more discontent is brewing in both parties as the leaders are unable to reach a consensus on appointment of officers for state-run boards and corporations.
“Kumaraswamy wants his cronies to be made heads of these boards, but that is not possible as Congress leaders want their men in certain positions. Also, there is major disagreement between PWD Minister HD Revanna and Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar, especially after the transfers that were made. Now, DK Shivakumar wants to have his way and appoint people closer to him as chairmen of certain key state-run boards. The parties have not been able to come to an agreement on this,” the Congress leader added.