BENGALURU: The Congress-JDS coalition government, headed by H D Kumaraswamy, completes one year on May 23, an anniversary marked by a struggle to survive.
For Kumaraswamy and his JDS, May 23, 2018 was a big day as the party came to power after over a decade and almost all top leaders from the anti-BJP parties were in attendance for his swearing-in ceremony, signaling the possibility of former PM H D Deve Gowda playing the role of a catalyst in the formation of a grand alliance against BJP at the national level.
Now, on the same date a year later, the Lok Sabha results will decide Gowda’s role in national politics as well as the longevity of the state government.
‘Coalition govt survived from month to month’
In the last 365 days, the CM and the Congress ministers in his government have spent most of their time either fighting elections, including 2018 bypolls and the Lok Sabha election, or defusing crises within and outside the coalition.
A good first few months were lost in ministry formation and appointments to boards and corporations. Given the challenges the government has faced almost on a daily basis, it was surprising for many that it managed to pull through this long. “It survived from month to month. It is a surprise to people that the government, which was expected to collapse at any moment, survived for a year,” says political analyst Prof Sandeep Shastri.
While Kumaraswamy managed to implement the much-debated Rs 48,000 crore farm loan waiver, the scheme was overshadowed by the uncertainty over the stability of his government. Constant exchanges between top leaders of the JDS and Congress, differences that came to the fore during the Lok Sabha polls, and deadlines for the government by the BJP leaders kept the government on the edge all along.
Even on Wednesday, leaders from the coalition — Siddaramaiah and H Vishwanath — were sparring in the open, while senior BJP leader DV Sadananda Gowda set a fresh deadline by saying tomorrow (Thursday) or day-after (Friday) will be Kumaraswamy’s last day as CM and the stage will be set for the formation of a new government. “It is 100% true,” he asserted.
In fact, many top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa, have stated in the past that Karnataka will see a major political change after May 23. It may be a part of the BJP’s bigger strategy to not allow the state government settle down, as the Congress was trying to pitch the ‘Karnataka model’ to forge alliance with regional anti-BJP parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Although many schemes were announced and efforts are being made to implement some like the farm loan waiver, the general feeling has been that the government was not seen in action. It's handling of the drought situation too faced flak. The leaders were accused of reacting to situations late. The JDS, however, insists that its government did well despite constraints. “Apart from the farm loan waiver, the CM took up many initiatives. Kumaraswamy and team have given a good government,” says senior JDS leader Ramesh Babu.