The Hindu : National : Krishna hopeful of good show

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National

Krishna hopeful of good show

P. Sunderarajan

Says BJP will not gain from sympathy wave, admits to factionalism in State unit

S.M. Krishna

NEW DELHI: The former Karnataka Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, has expressed confidence that the Congress will do well in the Assembly elections and said the BJP will not gain from any sympathy wave.

In the interview to be telecast on Sunday, he conceded that factionalism dogged the State Congress unit, with as many as nine contenders for Chief Minister. “We can’t have nine Chief Ministers, but we need to have one and the Congress has mastered the art of selecting Chief Ministers without upsetting the apple-cart.”

In an interview to Karan Thapar’s ‘Devil’s Advocate’ programme on the CNN-IBN channel, he said the high inflation rate could have some adverse impact on the party, but it was factored in.

Asked about the reported differences within the Congress over accommodating the former Janata Dal (Secular) members in seat allocation, he said the party would handle the issue without any problem, as many sitting Congress members would have lost their seats because of the delimitation exercise.

He denied that the PCC president, Mallikarjun Kharge, urged the Election Commission to postpone the election merely because the party needed time to put its house in order. He dismissed the BJP’s contention that it was happy with the elections in May — as something meant for public consumption.

“Every party needed more time ... What they said [was] for outside consumption. We know what is happening inside [that party].”

Asked about the controversy over Tamil Nadu’s drinking water project at Hogenakkal, Mr. Krishna said Karnataka would not hesitate to approach the Supreme Court to protect its interests. “We are not really concerned whether the DMK is going to be upset or it is going to have an impact on the Central government. All that we are concerned is how does this project affect the Karnataka State in terms of the water sharing agreement between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.”

Noting that the project proposed to use water from the Cauvery, he said: “It is an inter-State water dispute. We can always go to the Supreme Court so that protection is there for every State.”

(Later, in another interview to the channel after the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister announced that the State would wait for a new government in Karnataka before its next move on the Hogenakkal project, Mr. Krishna said he spoke to Mr. Karunanidhi and thanked him for the announcement. “I expected this great gesture from an elderly statesman like Mr. Karunanidhi. … This would lay a solid foundation for the good neighbourly relationship between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.”)

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