The coalition government in the State, headed by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, may take a wee bit longer to settle down, with serious differences cropping up among the State leaders of the Congress over the nitty-gritty of the understanding and resentment among some legislators of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) who could not make it to the Council of Ministers. It is another matter that any ministry formation exercise is a difficult task, more so when a coalition government takes charge and various positions of power and influence, leave alone the other considerations that go with them, are the most sought after.
It is common knowledge that the post-poll understanding between the Congress and the JD(S) was hastily arrived at to largely keep the Bharatiya Janata Party out of government formation, but the tenure of this marriage of convenience may not last the full term of the Legislative Assembly, given the range of differences between the two parties. That the understanding will primarily be beneficial only to the JD(S) and that it will do more harm to the Congress than do any good is the argument being put across by top Congress leaders of the State who obviously were not privy to the discussions between the two parties.
In the midst of this, there is also considerable resentment over the manner in which the Congress leaders tasked with finalising the agreement with the JD(S) have handed over the chief ministership to the JD(S) on a platter and have also been repeatedly stating that Mr. Kumaraswamy will be the Chief Minister for the full term, thus indicating that the Congress is not interested in a rotational arrangement for the post which is normally the case when two parties on the face of a divided verdict come together to form the government.
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Added to all this, the JD(S) has also outsmarted the Congress in taking away the control over some of the key departments which are identified as lucrative portfolios for those vested with the authority to manage them.
If the next round of elections to the Lok Sabha was the primary target and the consequent need for the parties ranged against the BJP to forge a unity as the compulsion that prompted the Congress to enter into a quick understanding with the JD(S), then its decision will be proved wrong since the presence of the JD(S) in most parts of the State, barring the Old Mysore region, is very limited. Added to this, the Congress has won most of the Lok Sabha seats in the Mysuru belt and cannot part with them to the JD(S) owing to the understanding. The Congress had won nine of the 28 seats in the 2014 elections as against two seats won by the JD(S).
At the present juncture, having entered into a post-poll alliance with the JD(S), it is imperative for the Congress to carry it forward and ensure that the present coalition government works to the expectations of the people which will in itself help the party to have a commanding presence in the elections to the Lok Sabha. Interestingly, although the Congress does not enjoy weighty portfolios in the Kumaraswamy-led government, it does have the departments which can have a direct reach with the people. For instance, the portfolio of Bengaluru City Development is with the Congress and it is for Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara to focus all attention to bring about improvements to the State capital’s infrastructure.
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(The writer is Resident Representative, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, Bengaluru)