Karnataka imbroglio

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Karnataka imbroglio

Saturday, 20 July 2019 | Pioneer

Karnataka imbroglio

Even if the numbers stack up for BJP, will it find stability amid the politics of negotiation? What about governance?

There seems to be no end to the Karnataka imbroglio, which is holding democracy to ransom and reducing it to a power fiefdom of the political class in the State, wholly disconnected from what its people want. Shedding even the pretence of constitutional propriety, the ruling Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have turned governance into an attrition of avarice and naked greed, both trying to steal each other’s numbers to keep the top chair. If the BJP, rankled after missing the bus despite being the single largest party, has been on a year-long destabilisation mission by prying off ruling legislators with lucre, the Congress-JD(S) cannot escape criticism either now for inordinately delaying a trust vote in the hope of buying time and taming its rebels. Such has been a single-minded pursuit of toppling each other that whoever comes to power will only be perpetuating a game of numbers, walking on pins and needles to save each day rather than risking a visionary model of government. And despite the cardboard claims of a “judgement day” by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, the only judgement day could come when the current crop of leaders get voted in or out for their legitimate worth by the voters. And if in that process, the BJP and the Congress  have to do some blood-letting, so be it. Corruption has fouled the image of both national parties in the State and made them both appear as eager hosts of creepy parasites. For though Karnataka is one of our highest GDP States in the country, the fact remains that the past year of policy paralysis has meant that key challenges have not been addressed, primary among them being that of crumbling infrastructure and an immediate dispersion of industries, the Cauvery waters and the very real problem of urban regeneration and remodelling because of scarcity of a precious resource. Then there is the agrarian crisis. Over 35,000 farmers committed suicide between April 2013 and November 2017, the second highest after Maharashtra, according to NCRB data. Of these, nearly 2,500 had suffered crop failure and drought. 

The Congress has had to bear the worst burden of the Kumaraswamy government’s non-performance. By taking on a minority partner and elevating it to the top chair, the Congress has been reduced to powerlessness while being part of the power structure and even perhaps having the better adeptness. The alliance with the father-son duo of HD Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy cost the party not only Lok Sabha seats but denuded the stature of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The Congress high command’s intervention in the deal and setting up a rival in D Shiva Kumar as its face has only heightened dissension within the party and fractured its ranks. This is the reason why its legislators are deserting like rats. And now though stuck with Kumaraswamy in the floor test, fresh elections or sitting in the Opposition benches are far better options for the party than ticking off a State that it can milk for relevance. Appealing to the Supreme Court, against the no-whip clause as violative of the spirit of the anti-defection law, seems desperate. Of course, in matters of seeking the trust vote, BJP’s Yeddyurappa has been slightly better than Kumaraswamy, choosing to resign when he knew he didn’t have the numbers. Even now he is quoting the strength of his party MLAs rather than giving into speculation that the dissident MLAs would join the BJP ranks. Assuming he gets a second shot at power, can he be sure that the assured support by defecting MLAs would hold? As it is, his proximity to the mining barons of Bellary is not looked at with much grace by the central BJP leadership that would like to stay away from any insinuation that it had a role in purchasing legislators. Audio tapes of his conversation with Congress MLAs during the last Assembly session still foreshadow his political intent. Be that as it may, the BJP cannot do without Yeddyurappa, too, as he is the face of the Lingayats, an identity plank that still has potential. And considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps on quoting Basavanna and bases his schemes on his philosophy, the BJP cannot do without Yeddyurappa. But then can the party risk being seen as a power-grabber so soon after relinquishing a chance last summer? Will the BJP keep to the murky sense of righteousness, what with MLAs refusing to vacate the Assembly, or seek another mandate?

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