The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) alliance in Karnataka, formed after the fractured mandate in the 2018 Legislative Assembly elections, is set to end in all likelihood.
The two parties, who had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections together, may fight future elections independently.
Congress leaders have blamed JD(S) leaders, particularly its national president H.D. Deve Gowda, for the collapse of the H.D. Kumaraswamy government and the alliance. After the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party ending their alliance in Uttar Pradesh, this is the second major alliance to be drifting apart after the 2019 elections.
Though Congress leaders maintained that the party central leadership would take a final call on the alliance, that is the signal being sent out. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao told The Hindu that the party supported the Kumaraswamy government both inside and outside the State legislature till the last minute.
“Congress Legislature Party Leader Siddaramaiah made all-out efforts to save the coalition government to keep the BJP out of power,” he claimed.
He pointed out that the BJP had been taking away Opposition party MLAs not in Karnataka alone, but in other States as well. Hence there was no substance in Mr. Gowda’s allegations that Mr. Siddaramaiah was responsible for the collapse of the government, Mr. Rao said.
“It is unbecoming on the part of Mr. Gowda to blame Mr. Siddaramaiah. The JD(S) leader’s statements against the CLP leader are politically motivated and will not benefit either the Congress or the JD(S). I hope the people our State will not accept Mr. Gowda’s statements, which are aimed at gaining sympathy and fulfilling personal agenda,” Mr. Rao said.
“We will build our party, let the JD(S) leaders build their party,” the KPCC president said.
