R Shankar & Arun/Newindpress
Bangalore, Nov 1: Is the Janata Dal(S) at its old game of taking the BJP for a ride in Karnataka?
Three developments are worth flagging: Janata Dal (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda has refused to withdraw his letter to Governor Rameshwar Thakur asking for a dissolution of the Assembly.
He should have given a letter extending support to the BJP and thus supercede his earlier letter. Now the Governor can act on Gowda's letter by including it in his report to the Centre recommending dissolution of the House.
The Governor can take a stand that the JD(S) party chief's letter is a clear indication that a BJP-JD(S) government will not be stable. So, the only option will be elections.
Secondly, the JD(S) has kept itself aloof from BJP's agitation programmes. Nobody from the party went along with the BJP delegation that met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi; nobody is expected to be part of the team that will meet President Pratibha Patil either.
The BJP had decided to launch a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue to bring pressure on Governor to initiate the process of installing an elected government in Karnataka. Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and other frontline leaders did not join the agitation. Instead they sent the second line of leaders like Merajuddin Patel and Y S V Datta.
Thirdly, the JD(S) is sure that if the Karnataka issue comes before Parliament, it will have very few friends to bank on. If it openly aligns itself with the BJP, it will have to face all the flak in Parliament.
When the Left called Deve Gowda an opportunist politician, the JD(S) got the message. Its plan now is to make the BJP face all the heat in Parliament. The JD(S) may at best get only a passing reference. It will not lend its voice to the BJP in the debate in Parliament either.
So, why is the JD(S) backtracking now? The party was desperate to wash away its image of a betrayer. The message being spread by the JD(S) leaders is that the party did its duty in giving power to the BJP and also support former deputy chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.
If the Governor or the Centre does not invite the BJP, it is the BJP's fate, not the fault of the JD(S). In this din, hardly anyone will remember that Gowda had not given a letter in support of the BJP. If that is raked up, the JD(S) again has an answer: Gowda is not the legislative party leader. So he need not give a letter supporting the BJP.
With all this, the JD(S) hopes that the Lingayats would not be upset. After all the BJP was given an opportunity and a Lingayat (Yeddy) was not denied the seat of power.
But can the JD(S) sell this theory to the electorate? Well, like what Kumaraswamy said earlier, “anything is possible in politics.”
Karnataka - Anything for the Sake of Power:
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- New Delhi: Cabinet Approves President's Rule in Karnataka
- Bangalore: CM Quits, Governor Recommends Dissolution of House
- Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister to Resign on Oct 8 Evening
- Mangalore: BJP in Low Spirits, Congress Buoyant over Coalition Break-up
- Bangalore: Kumaraswamy Forwards BJP Ministers' Resignations to Governor
- BJP Terms it 'Betrayal', Withdraws Support to JD(S) in Karnataka
- Karnataka: 'No Power Hand-over' - JD(S)' Final Word to BJP
- Karnataka: Astrologers Predict Snap Polls
- Bangalore: BJP MLAs Want Party to Withdraw Support to Coalition
- Bangalore: Cong may offer Outside Support to JD(S) if BJP Pulls out
- Bangalore: Kumaraswamy Convenes Cabinet Meet on Friday, Oct 5
- Coalition Govt: Clear Picture will Emerge on Oct 5: Deve Gowda
- Bangalore: BJP Ministers' Mass Resignations and after
- Bangalore: Yediyurappa, BJP Ministers Resign en Masse
- Bangalore: Kumaraswamy Refuses to Resign, Rebuffs BJP
- Bangalore: State's JD(S)-BJP Coalition Govt in Doldrums
- Bantwal: Yediyurappa not Fit to be a Chief Minister - Bondala
- BJP not to Allow Kumaraswamy to Continue as CM
- Allow Kumaraswamy to Continue as CM: Deve Gowda
- Bangalore: JD (S) Leads in Civic Polls in State
- Is Yediyurappa Fit to be CM? - Deve Gowda
- New Delhi: Yediyurappa will Take over as CM of Karnataka - BJP
- Bangalore: Karnataka T20: Coalition in Last-over Crisis
- Mangalore: Deve Gowda Behaving Irresponsibly - Poojary
- Bangalore: Kumaraswamy Says He will Quit on Oct 3
- Udupi: Gowda Confused over Power Transfer, Says Bangarappa
- Mangalore: 'Mine-owners' Decision Key to JDS-BJP Power
- Transfer of Power to BJP in People's Hands - JD(S) President
- Power Transfer: Gowda's Final Game Plan to Retain Son as CM
- Power Transfer: Terrible Past, Tense Future Haunts Gowda
- Handing over Power - Deve Gowda & Co Getting Ready to Shatter BJP's Dreams?
- State CM Can't Decide Power Transfer to BJP on his Own: JD(S)
- Mangalore: 'Power Transfer in State would be Smooth and in Time', Say CM, DyCM