Ahead of meet, MLAs assert: no change in CM

Legislators from the Janata Dal (S) are putting pressure on their leader H D Kumaraswamy to continue as Chief Minister...

Legislators from the Janata Dal (S) are putting pressure on their leader H D Kumaraswamy to continue as Chief Minister of Karnataka instead of handing over power to the BJP on October 3.

Ahead of a late evening meeting of the JD(S) legislature unit here on Tuesday, party MLAs stated that they would try to convince Kumaraswamy to carry on instead of conceding the post to his deputy, the BJP’s B S Yediyurappa. “Kumaraswamy has done a good job as CM. He has gained great goodwill among the people in his short 20-month tenure. We the MLAs feel he should continue his good work for the state instead of handing over power,” Forest Minister C Chenigappa said.

Several other MLAs and ministers, including Housing Minister D T Jayakumar and Labour Minister Iqbal Ansari, voiced similar support for Kumaraswamy. The JD(S) has 40 MLAs in the House.

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As per the February 2006 power sharing agreement sealed by Kumaraswamy and Yediyurappa, the JD(S) is scheduled to hand over power on October 3, to allow the BJP to begin its own 20-month tenure at the helm of affairs. As that deadline approaches, there have been several back and forth statements emanating, primarily from the JD(S).

Even Kumaraswamy has contradicted himself over the past two days. In Bijapur district, in the course of a village visit on Monday, he said his 20-month tenure was only a probationary period and that his MLAs wanted him to continue. However in Bangalore on Tuesday he said he was getting ready to hand over power.

On Tuesday morning, in fact, rumours of Kumaraswamy’s premature resignation to hand over power to the BJP flew thick and fast even as the Chief Minister stayed closeted in a guest house often used by JD(S) MLAs for brainstorming sessions.

Kumaraswamy only emerged in the evening to chair an emergency Cabinet meeting alongside his deputy. The JD(S) CM and his replacement-in-waiting also posed for photographers in the manner they had done soon after the alliance was forged. “This is a solid coalition. It is only rumours floating around which seem to doubt its strength,” senior JD(S) leader and Home Minister M P Prakash said after the Cabinet meeting.

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BJP MLAs, who easily won’t let go of an opportunity to come to power for the first time in not just Karnataka but entire south India, have been instructed by the party high command to resign collectively if the JD(S) fails to transfer power.

For its part, the JD(S) is said to be bargaining for greater control over the state, including specific portfolios like the Home Ministry before the power transfer.