Karnataka   

Enthusiastic supporters cheer as leaders take oath

Anil Kumar Sastry

Leaders' image brings in farmers and women from all over the State to witness swearing-in ceremony at the Vidhana Soudha

BANGALORE: There was happiness, there were expectations and there was satisfaction among the supporters of the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who had gathered in front of the Vidhana Soudha on Friday.

And as their leaders — H.D. Kumaraswamy and B.S. Yediyurappa — walked down the stairs, by the bandstand, from the main gate of the Vidhana Soudha waving to the crowd, the people cheered and whistled, waved party flags and held up placards with Mr. Kumaraswamy's photograph. This was a historic moment of the coming together of the two parties.

The pro-farmers and pro-women image cultivated by both the leaders and their parties brought in a large number of farmers and women from all over the State who expected "some miracle" from the new Government for their progress.

As the time for the swearing-in ceremony neared, there was hardly any space on Ambedkar Veedhi, the lawns facing the Vidhana Soudha and the High Court grounds. Advocates, litigants and court staff assembled on the terrace of the High Court canteen to catch a glimpse of the proceedings. Traffic was stopped for a while on the road to allow the surging crowd to watch the ceremony. As soon as Mr. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Yediyurappa took oath as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively, enthusiastic party workers burst crackers all along the road.

Supporters and office-bearers of both the parties had gathered at the venue from all parts of the State, including the hometowns of Mr. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Yediyurappa — Holenarsipur and Shikaripur respectively — to wish their leaders good luck.

Common enemy

"The BJP was not our enemy at any point of time," said Srikanth, a JD(S) taluk panchayat member from Holenarsipur, and pointed out that the Congress is their common enemy. Expressing confidence that the Government led by a youngster would do marvels for the State, Mr. Srikanth said the alliance will provide good governance.

IT'S CELEBRATION TIME: (Clockwise from top) The gathering at the swearing-in ceremony in Bangalore on Friday; a live Janata Dal symbol, folk artistes having fun, and policemen guarding the corridors of power. — Photos: K. Bhagya Prakash and Sa mpath Kumar G.P.

His views were echoed by Naganagouda, a BJP worker from Koppal, who said farmers will get a better deal from the new Government.

For Vijayalakshmi, Bhagyavati, Satyavati and other members of the BJP Women's Morcha from Jayanagar in Bangalore, their party's rise to power was a dream come true.

Suleiman of the JD (S), who is the president of the Teradal Town Panchayat in Jamkhandi taluk, had no regrets over the recent developments and hoped the State would prosper. Asked whether he was not worried about the BJP, which is branded as a communal party, Mr. Suleiman wondered whether the BJP would have got 79 seats in the Assembly if many Muslims had not voted for the party.

Kusumamma from Ranikoppa in Shikaripur taluk said she expected the new Government to offer better prices for farm produce. Ms. Kusumamma had come with 30 other members of a Stree Shakti sangha of the taluk.

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