Partner Problems
CM Kumaraswamy is having a hard time keeping restless Congress MLAs in line
It’s been a gruelling four months for H.D. Kumaraswamy. Battling to keep Karnataka’s precarious coalition intact, the chief minister has had to deal with ego clashes and ally Congress’s rebellious MLAs fighting turf wars. The situation is slightly precarious and even affecting administration.
In a fresh crisis, three Congress MLAs went AWOL, forcing AICC general secretary in charge of the state, K.C. Venugopal, to rush to Bengaluru on September 23. Speculation was rife that the BJP was wooing them in a bid to bring down the Kumaraswamy government.
This isn’t the first time disgruntled Congressmen have caused their party embarrassment. Earlier in September, the Jharkiholi brothers—Ramesh, Satish and Lakhan—powerful leaders from the sugarcanerich Belagavi district, had threatened to quit. They were apparently riled with water resources minister D.K. Shivakumar’s bid to promote their rival, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, in Belagavi. It was finally left to the chief minister to pacify the brothers.
Political commentators say the Congress appears to be losing its moorings in the state. Bengalurubased analyst A. Veerappa says recent changes in the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee have led to intense factionalism in the party. He says Kumaraswamy, though
BOTH THE JD(S) AND THE CONGRESS CLAIM THE BJP IS TRYING TO POACH THEIR MLAs. THE LATTER SCOFFS AT THE CHARGE
he’s from the JD(S), has no choice but to intervene to save the coalition.
JD(S) leaders say ex-Congress CM Siddaramaiah, who heads the coalition coordination committee, has been much too slow to respond to the crises in the party. Both coalition partners blame the BJP for trying to destabilise the government. Minor irrigation minister C.S. Puttaraju of the JD(S) claims he has tapes of the BJP trying to lure Congress MLAs. “They are trying to get our MLAs also. We will release the evidence at the right time,” he says.
CM Kumaraswamy has also accused former BJP chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa of trying to woo JD(S) legislator Suresh Gowda. The latter, though, scoffs at the charge, saying, “Many Congress legislators are upset and want to quit. We (BJP) have nothing to do with it.”