• News
  • Elections News
  • Good show by Congress-JD(S) can leave HD Kumaraswamy govt on sticky wicket
This story is from March 27, 2019

Good show by Congress-JD(S) can leave HD Kumaraswamy govt on sticky wicket

A good showing by the Congress-JD(S) alliance in next month’s Lok Sabha elections can, ironically, imperil the very survival of their coalition government in the state. This is because the Congress has fielded three MLAs as candidates and their victory will cut into the wafer-thin majority of the HD Kumaraswamy government.
Good show by Congress-JD(S) can leave HD Kumaraswamy govt on sticky wicket
Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy
BENGALURU: A good showing by the Congress-JD(S) alliance in next month’s Lok Sabha elections can, ironically, imperil the very survival of their coalition government in the state. This is because the Congress has fielded three MLAs as candidates and their victory will cut into the wafer-thin majority of the HD Kumaraswamy government.
At the end of the budget session of the state legislature, the BJP had 104 members, the Congress 81 and the JD(S) 37.
The 224-member house also included two independents. One of the independents is now an associate member of the Congress, while the leaning of the other is unknown. The coalition government had a total strength of 119 MLAs.
The demise last week of Congress minister GS Shivalli reduced the party’s strength to 80, while its MLA Umesh Jadhav has quit the party and the house and is contesting the Lok Sabha poll as a BJP candidate in Kalaburagi. Jadhav’s resignation is yet to be accepted by the speaker, but his exit from the Congress is final.
Making matters interesting, the Congress is now fielding sitting MLAs — Eshwar Khandre (Bhalki), Krishna Byregowda (Byatarayanapura) and Shamanuru Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South) — in the Lok Sabha elections. If they win, they must give up their assembly seats which would reduce numbers of the coalition. The Congress’s strength could fall to 76 (assuming all three win and factoring in Jadhav’s exit) and would reduce the coalition members to 114 in the legislative assembly.
Meanwhile, three Congress MLAs — besides Jadhav — are facing disqualification proceedings and if the speaker rules against them, the number of Congress legislators could further fall to 73 and the coalition’s to 111 in a house of 216 members. The coalition government will then have only three members more than the magic number of 109 — the halfway mark.
“More than the dwindling of numbers due to various reasons, we are more worried about
Operation Lotus (poaching of MLAs) by the BJP,” said DK Shivakumar, senior Congress leader and irrigation minister. “BJP leaders are saying that they are in touch with at least 15 MLAs from Congress and JD(S), although their repetitive efforts to unsettle our government have failed so far.”
Adding to the fear, BS Yeddyurappa, state BJP president, has predicted that the JD(S)-Congress government will fall within 48 hours of the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll results on May 23. “We need not do anything to pull this government down. It will fall on its own because of the falling number of its MLAs,” Yeddyurappa said. “Forget Congress legislators contesting Lok Sabha polls, there are far more MLAs ready to desert the party.”
Yeddyurappa also said fissures in the ruling coalition will widen further and the alliance partners would go their separate ways.
However, Congress leaders insist the decision to field sitting MLAs in the general election is a calculated one and was taken on the basis of their ability to win.
“The party has laid out a clear plan to regain the numbers in the legislative assembly,” said PR Ramesh, secretary of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP). “We are sure of winning bypolls which will be held for the seats that fall vacant. There will not be any threat to the stability of the government.”
Still, a challenge is brewing for the Congress. The three MLAs facing disqualification could cross over to the BJP and seek re-election in bypolls as candidates of the saffron party. “Regardless of whether the speaker’s decision on the disqualification petition is pending, the legislators in question can contest the next elections,” said Madabushi Sridhar, professor of constitutional law at Bennett University. “The same applies to the MLA (Jadhav) whose resignation is yet to be accepted by the speaker.”
author
About the Author
B V Shiva Shankar

BV Shiva Shankar is a special correspondent with The Times of India Hyderabad covering political issues as well as issues like metro rail, urban infrastructure, liquor and irrigation.

End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA