By IANS
New Delhi : Despite its ally Janata Dal-Secular's volte face on change of guard in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday maintained that the party would head the government from October.
BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar expressed confidence that Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa would become the chief minister, heading the BJP-JD-S government, Oct 3, in line with the power sharing agreement.
The coalition government, he added, would last until mid-2009 when fresh elections are due.
Ananth Kumar's comments came amid hints that the JD-S was seeking to realign with the Congress, which it ditched to come to power with BJP's help.
In January 2006, JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy had withdrawn support to then Congress chief minister Dharam Singh and aligned with the BJP and become chief minister Feb 3.
Ananth Kumar maintained: "I don't think there is any problem in our agreement and there will be transfer of power on schedule on Oct 3."
Under the arrangement, the JD-S and the BJP were to head the government alternately for a period of one-and-a-half year each, out of the three years that remained to be served for the present assembly.
Kumaraswamy's term comes to end Oct 2, after which Yediyurappa is to lead the coalition government.
But since the July 19 presidential election, when the JD-S refused to support BJP veteran Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, doubts have been raised in political circles whether the arrangement between the two parties would last beyond the tenure of Kumaraswamy.
The Karantaka chief minister, who was here last week to attend the swearing in ceremony of President Pratibha Patil, said a final decision on handing over the chief minister's post to BJP had to be taken by JD-S president, his father H.D. Deve Gowda.
Ananth Kumar accepted that Deve Gowda had his "secular compulsions" but insisted that "there will be no problem" in transfer of power in Karnataka.
He added: "There is no clash between the JD-S and the BJP. They (JD-S) have their presence in south and west Karnataka and our stronghold is north and east. Both of us have a direct clash with the Congress party."
A senior JD-S leader in New Delhi hinted at aligning with the Congress. "If we have 75 percent responsibility of bringing in a secular government in Karnataka, Congress too has 25 percent responsibility. If they deal with the situation properly, things might work out."
The JD-S leader added that although no direct talks had taken place between the Congress and JD-S, mediators have been shuttling between Deve Gowda and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
When Deve Gowda came to New Delhi July 18 last to announce his party's decision to abstain from presidential polls, he had spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on telephone and also met BJP president Rajnath Singh.