Ballot in Bangalore

A power-sharing pact was forged 20 months ago in Karnataka. It was agreed that the JD(S), having walked out of the ruling coalition with the Congress and paired up with the BJP to form a new government led by H.D. Kumaraswamy, would transfer chief ministership to the BJP. But as the scheduled day of transfer approaches, the agreement has been stripped of its predictability. A cottage industry of innuendo and speculation has sprung up around the JD(S)’s willingness to abide by its word, with the guessing games being regularly fuelled by the Gowdas. If father Gowda assures all concerned about a smooth transfer of power on October 3, the son makes doubtful noises — and vice versa. The latest round of uncertainties triggered by irresponsible allegations made by a BJP minister against Kumaraswamy may have settled down after the BJP dispatched Yashwant Sinha as peacemaker to Bangalore. But the question remains in Karnataka: Even if the BJP got its turn on the hot seat, what kind of a government could it hope to run?

Admittedly, for the BJP, the prospect of leading a government in Karnataka is invested with an immensely seductive symbolism, given the party’s ambitions to eventually make an independent political incursion in south India. Also, despite the theatrics a la Gowda, JD(S)’s options would appear to be rather limited, with the Congress apparently turning down its overtures this time. Yet, as the national party in the equation, the BJP must still ask itself whether it has more to lose by heading a dispensation that has been made to look so drained of dignity and integrity.

There comes a time in the life of a government when it should not be stretched and strained any further — and when any effort to do so will only be at the terrible cost of the depletion of popular trust in it. Such a moment has come upon the UPA-Left arrangement at the Centre. By all accounts, it has overtaken the JD(S)-BJP regime in Karnataka as well. Elections are the only way out.