From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Feb 5: All eyes are focused on what the opposition BJP plans to do in its mission to cause embarrassment to the H D Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-Congress coalition regime as the Karnataka Legislature commences its brief budget session from Wednesday.

There are rumours floating around that BJP plans to bring down the government by engineering defections or at least prevailing upon some of the disgruntled ruling Congress or JD(S) MLAs to resign and thereby reduce the coalition government’s majority.

Meanwhile, chief minister Kumaraswamy as well as the ruling Congress party leaders have expressed confidence of weathering any toppling bids and defeating the BJP attempts to pull down the government.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy

The government is bracing up for a 10-day budget session, which is likely to be stormy as the opposition BJP failed in its attempt to topple the government and still talks of reducing the government’s strength in the House.

Governor Vajubhai Vala is scheduled to address both houses of the legislature on Wednesday morning and spell out the government’s vision.

Both the houses of state legislature will be mourning the recent demise of Siddaganga Math Seer Sri Shivakumara Swamiji.

The chief minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, had earlier said that he would be presenting the state budget on February 8 amidst the opposition BJP attempting to destabilize the government by poaching the Congress legislators.

With speculation that four Congress ‘rebel’ legislators continued to be defiant, the ruling ally is desperately wooing them to ensure their presence in the lower house for passing the budget after debate on it next week.

Former chief minister and Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah too called a dinner meeting of the Congress ministers to keep the flock together and avoid any kind of embarrassment.

Meanwhile, leader of the Opposition B S Yeddyurapa held a meeting at the party office on Tuesday evening to chalk out the party’s strategy during the session.

However, unperturbed by the developments during the last few days, the chief minister was holding the department wise review ahead for the 2019-20 budget and giving final touches to the schemes to be announced.

Kumaraswamy has held discussions with farmers’ leaders from various districts and taken suggestions from them, mainly on electricity, irrigation, crop insurance, seeds and marketing, among others, so that these could be implemented in the budget to initiate good programmes for them.

The chief minister recently told the media that he would fulfil his Rs 46,000-crore loan waiver commitment to farmers ‘completely’ in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government's second budget.

Reiterating that all eligible farmers would get the benefit of loan waiver, he said it is the responsibility of the government.