Day after win, Cong, JD(S) drive a hard bargain for crucial posts
BENGALURU: Even as Congress and its new alliance partner Janata Dal (Secular) continued to celebrate the fall of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka, which lasted just 55 hours, both parties have started hard bargaining behind the scenes on portfolios and power distribution.
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, who will be leading the coalition as chief minister, declared on Sunday that there was “no dissension within our party” and all members had authorised him to take “necessary steps for smooth formation of the government”.
He said this after meeting his party MLAs, who are camping at a leading hotel in Bengaluru. He also denied reports that the chief ministership would be rotated between the Congress and JD(S) or that any discussion had taken place on portfolio allocation. Kumaraswamy will take the oath as the CM of the state on May 23.
Kumaraswamy said he would be meeting with United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to invite them for the swearing-in ceremony. Declaring that he would prove his majority within 24 hours of taking the oath, he said portfolio allocation would be decided after talks with senior Congress leaders. Kumaraswamy also said that no discussion had taken place with the Congress on putting up a joint candidate against the BJP for the Jayanagar and RR Nagar seats, elections for which had been postponed.
Senior Congress leader and leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge said his party had extended support to JD(S) to uphold constitutional principles and democracy.