H.D. Kumaraswamy

NEW DELHI: Although there have been serious differences between the ruling coalition partners in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular), there are indications that both the parties want to make new efforts to ensure that the coalition runs its full term.

Sources in the BJP said the party had high stakes in the continuation of the Government, as that would ensure the party getting its first Chief Minister in the south. When the Government was set up, it was decided that the JD(S) would head it for the first 20 months and the BJP would then have its turn.

In an interview to Organiser, the mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, JD(S) leader and Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said: "This Government will complete its full term and there will be not be any problem [in power transfer] at all from my side."

The immediate test for the alliance is the coming by-election to the Chamundeswari Assembly seat.

It fell vacant when JD(S) legislator Siddaramaiah resigned his seat when he left the party and joined the Congress.

He is expected to seek re-election from the seat as a Congress candidate. Mr. Siddaramaiah's falling out with the JD(S) was bitter.

Hence, winning the seat has become a prestige issue for the party, specifically for the Chief Minister and his father, the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

A problem has arisen, with the BJP staking its claim to the seat on the ground that it came second in the last election. The party says the JD(U) does not have a strong candidate for the seat and it is in a better position to win.

Not a "prestige issue"

In the interview, for the first time, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the JD(S) would not make it a "prestige issue." "If they [BJP] convince me and our party leaders that they are very strong there and confident of winning the election, then we can support them also. We are not going to make it a prestige issue. If they convince us, we are ready to cooperate. But in all previous elections, either the JD(S) or the Congress has won the seat."

BJP sources have indicated that the Chamundeswari issue is wide open and by no means has the party given up its claims.

At the same time, senior leaders also let it be known that the BJP would like to resolve the matter amicably as its stakes in the continuation of the Government are high.

As for a long-term alliance with the BJP, Mr. Kumaraswamy was more cautious: "Any electoral alliance will have to be decided by the senior leaders of ourparty and the BJP. Even the issue of joining the NDA [National Democratic Alliance] has to be taken by our leaders and the party president [Deve Gowda]. He has all along been fighting for secular forces. He has to take a final decision."

He stressed that development of the State was the only agenda of the Government.

"I don't interfere in their party [BJP's] activities or agenda and their ideology or principles will not impact the functioning of our Government. We are concentrating only on the development of the State with the common minimum action plan of the Karnataka Development Front as our manifesto and guide."

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