Miracles did not happen. H D Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka has fallen. The alliance government, once touted as a model of opposition unity to stop the BJP-RSS juggernaut, failed to keep its flock together when the floor test took place on Tuesday. It may take some time to understand if the dissident MLAs in the ruling camp, who stayed away from the floor test, will have to face any constitutional action, but it's time to probe what went wrong for the coalition experiment.
A Congress leader, who was part of the party's last-minute attempts to save the government from collapse, believes that it was bound to happen. He called the government's fall a 'natural death'.
“The alliance was cobbled up with the sole aim of keeping BJP out of power in the state. It was an alliance of foes rather than friends and thus it was unlikely to last long,” the leader told Onmanorama, citing the rivalry between the Congress and JD(S) in regions such as Mysore, Mandya and Hassan.
Putting things in a clear perspective, the leader said the Karnataka alliance was just like the CPM and the Congress coming together in Kerala to fight BJP. It would sound lofty in terms of ideology but realpolitik is not all about it. He said the idea of the post-poll alliance, or the Congress' Plan B came directly from the top order and right from the beginning, several regional leaders of both the parties were not convinced about it.
After its five-year tenure under Siddaramaiah from 2013 to 2018, the Congress lost power as it could win just 78 in the 224 seats in the state polls last year. The national party then hastily stitched up an alliance with former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) that had won a total of 37 seats.
As per the terms of the coalition agreement, the Congress retained only 24 out of the 34 ministerial berths and gave up 12 posts to the JD(S), including the chief minister’s chair. Senior Congress leaders who lost out on cabinet berths were seen making statements against the party leadership and openly opposing the coalition with the JD(S).
Factional feud
The coalition has alleged brazen horse trading by the BJP. However, if sources in the Congress are to be believed, BJP is not the lone culprit behind the alliance's fall. Factional feud, the age-old curse plaguing the Congress across the country, has played its part in the Karnataka crisis as well, the leader said.
Even as the party could stay somewhat united under the leadership of PCC chief Dinesh Gundu Rao and legislature party leader Siddaramaiah, it failed to keep in check the rivalry between two regional satraps – Ramesh Jarkiholi and D K Shivakumar.
Jarkiholi, a sugar baron from the Belagavi region, is heading the pack of rebel MLAs who have resigned pushing the government into a minority.
“Issues were brewing between Jarkiholi and Shivakumar for sometime. Jarkiholi wanted Shivakumar to be removed from the cabinet but the party was not in a position to do so provided Shivakumar's rising status in the organisation. The BJP could easily cash in on the rift between the two leaders,” the leader said. Shivakumar, the water resource minister in the Kumaraswamy cabinet, is referred to as the troubleshooter of the Congress. Critics, however, accuse him of self projection. Jarkiholi, who was dropped from the cabinet in December 2018, was reportedly unhappy with Shivakumar's rising influence over Belagavi, the former's family fiefdom.
Rahul's resignation
The leader Onmanorama spoke to also cited Rahul Gandhi's sudden resignation as Congress president as one of the reasons for the coalition's instability. The alliance was formed with the blessings of Rahul who wanted to keep BJP out of power at any cost.
“Now with Rahul stepping down and the party top post remaining vacant, the state leaders have lost confidence. Earlier, when Jarkiholi raised a similar rebellion ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, we could quench it with intervention from the party top brass. Then the BJP also was not as aggressive as it is now because they were also not very sure about coming back to power. Now with Narendra Modi in power for a second term, they could play their cards more confidently,” the leader said.
