Bangalore: After First JD(S) Slap, BJP Showing the Other Cheek?


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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Comment on this article

  • C.E.SALDANHA, SHIVBAGH

    Fri, Nov 02 2007

    For everything there is a limit. During th past few weeks, after reading the developments in Karnataka political field, I have come to the conclusion that it is not worth expecting anything good from our so called leaders. All are power hungry in the name of democracy and promise to deliver the goods to the public. It is shameful to read and hear the drama that is going on. The faces look disgusting and the fate of the public looks pathetic. After obtaining the freedon from the British all that we have been trying to prove is that as somebody said freedom is given in the hands of a few fools. May God grant them light, bless them with intelligence and help them realise how important is selflessness in politics. The good are silent and therefore we commoners are paying the price for that. May God bless our Bharathmatha and lead us all in the right direction. C.E. Saldanha.

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  • sanjeeva, mangalore / dubai

    Thu, Nov 01 2007

    What ever may be the case, its clear indication behind every politics theres Congress. Let that be in Bihar or in Karnataka. Congress is the dirtiest party i ever seen. I with my family for generations supported Congress,Now i would not vote or even i vote will be for BJP or anyother indepent candidtate.

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Title: Bangalore: After First JD(S) Slap, BJP Showing the Other Cheek?



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