JD-S/Congress government in Karnataka? The speculation mounts

BANGALORE/NEW DELHI: Senior JD-S leader M.P. Prakash on Wednesday said his talks with the Congress over government formation in Karnataka were positive, lending credence to the buzz that the two parties would come together to govern the state once again.

The former home minister of the state landed in the Karnataka capital on Wednesday after an unannounced visit to Delhi where he met union Home Minister Shivraj Patil for an hour on Tuesday, reportedly to discuss the contours of the new arrangement.

He also met Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka Prithviraj Chavan and senior leader Motilal Vora.

Though Janata Dal-Secular sources in the national capital said a second JD-S/Congress government in the present assembly was in the offing and an announcement could be expected soon, the Congress maintained a discreet silence.

The Delhi meetings caused a turmoil in the Karnataka JD-S, which was ruling the state until President's rule was imposed and the assembly kept in suspended animation early this month, with party president H.D. Deve Gowda saying he had not authorised the talks.
 
Prakash, however, maintained that he had not kept anyone in the dark about his Delhi talks.

He was accompanied on his Delhi trip by about 10 legislators, but met Patil and Vora one-on-one. Some legislators were present with him during the meeting with Chavan, said Mahadev Prasad, a legislator who accompanied Prakash.
 
"The Congress leaders said they will think over and get back to us," Prasad said.

"The response is positive," said Ameregouda Bayyapur, a legislator.
 
"JD-S legislators had authorised Prakash and other senior leaders to explore various options and take a decision," added another leader.

The crisis in the state was triggered by JD-S' Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy refusing to make way for coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after 20 months as per their agreement.

BJP walked out of the coalition. The 225-member state assembly still has 20 months left and a majority of legislators belonging to all the three main parties, JDS, BJP and Congress are against early polls.
 
Kumaraswamy has been advocating dissolution of the assembly and early polls as he has been responsible for bringing down two governments in the state since May 2004.
 
He had earlier walked out with 49 JD-S legislators in February 2006 to end the JD-S/Congress coalition formed after the fractured verdict of May 2004 assembly polls.

Caste equations are playing a crucial role too.

JD-S sources in Delhi admitted that the Lingayats are upset with the agreement with the BJP being sabotaged and the party was keen to contain the damage. The BJP's B.S. Yediyurappa is a Lingayat and was slated to become chief minister after Kumaraswamy.
 
The JD-S has therefore offered the Congress an opportunity to lead the government in the state, with JD-S support, for the remaining 20-odd months of the present term of the state assembly. But it has put only one condition, that the Congress choose a Lingayat as the next chief minister, said JD-S sources.

They have even suggested a name, a former minister in the Dharam Singh government, M.V. Rajasekharan. Rajasekharan is the son-in-law of former Congress president S. Nijalingappa.