A Dalit CM is Cong Plan B to wean away Deve Gowda

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said he is amenable to paving the way for a Dalit chief minister, if the Congress High Command is keen on that.

He was responding to the possibility of a Dalit chief minister, which may become imperative if there is a fractured mandate and the Congress needs to wean away JD (S) leader Deve Gowda to its side.

It is an open secret that Gowda and Siddaramaiah, who was once in the JD(S), are not on the best of the terms. So, Gowda’s support to the Congress may be contingent upon Siddaramaiah relinquishing the top post. Gowda's party has said it is the Congress' "responsibility" to reach out, if it does not get a majority.

Incidentally, Gowda, who has had tie-ups with both the Congress and the BJP in the

past, has no love lost for the saffron forces and has ruled out an alliance with the latter. Ahead of the Assembly election, he forged a tie up with Mayawati, which will extend to the Lok Sabha elections.

Incidentally, there is no dearth of Dalit leaders in the Congress, foremost among them being Mallikarjun Kharge and G Parameshwara.

Asked about reports that a Dalit will be made the Chief Minister if the Congress gets majority, Siddaramaiah said he has no objection and will leave the decision to the party high command. But the 69year-old was quick to add a rider. "I am not against anybody. You see, even the MLAs have to give their opinion".

Prime Minister Modi, during the election campaign, had played on the fault lines within the Congress and dared the party to replace Siddaramaiah with a Dalit face.

In an interview to Deccan Chronicle recently, Siddaramaiah had said there was "no race among Dalit Congress leaders" for the top post.’’ Political observers feel that the Congress would like to send a loaded political message to Dalits in MP and Rajasthan as well, which will next witness an Assembly

"I am Ok with a Dalit CM but the MLAs have to give their opinion" — Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah.

BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday after the polling for high-stake assembly polls in the southern state indicated a close contest between the saffron party and the Congress.

"The BJP will form the government in Karnataka on May 15 evening after the results," Shah said while addressing a gathering of around 15,000 BJP workers at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium near Panaji.

However, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) on Sunday claimed that neither Siddaramaiah, nor B.S. Yeddyurappa will become Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Talking to ANI, the JD (S) National General Secretary Danish Ali said that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Chief Ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa are making claims of forming next government in the state but the results will prove them wrong.

Meanwhile, BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa on Sunday said he will "give it in writing that the saffron party would win the Karnataka Assembly elections with an absolute majority and get 125 to 130 seats.

He claimed that there is a strong wave in BJP's favour.

"I have been in Karnataka politics for long... I will give it in writing. BJP is winning with an absolute majority the Karnataka elections. You can verify it once the results are out," he told reporters here.

Yeddyurappa said his calculations had never gone wrong in his political career and he expected the BJP to win 125 to 130 seats.

Most of the post-poll surveys have predicted the BJP to emerge as the single largest party in Karnataka, with the JD(S) of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda likely to emerge as the kingmaker.