By IANS
New Delhi : With the Congress’ role becoming crucial to avoid an early poll in Karnataka, the party may extend outside support to let the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) remain in power but a final decision is likely to be taken after party president Sonia Gandhi returns from New York.
According to Congress sources, senior party leaders in Karnataka and at the national level were contemplating propping the H.D. Kumaraswamy government in the state. The state government has been in trouble since the JD-S/Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition soured over transfer of power.
Congress leaders said they would ensure that the JD-S snapped relations with the BJP completely.
Party leaders are believed to have been assessing the political situation and the pros and cons of providing outside support to the JD-S to remain in power.
Although a section of the Congress insists that the party should support the JD-S to retain power to avoid early elections, others argue that it should not do so as it would not take away the ‘anti-incumbency wave’ leverage against the present government.
“We have been fighting against the government highlighting the corruption and poor governance in the last 20 months. How can we extend our support to such a government and go to the voters?” asked a party leader on the condition of anonymity.
Officially, the Congress maintains that it is watching the situation.
“We are watching the situation closely,” party leader and Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters here.
The issue will be on hold till Gandhi returns from New York, where she has gone to address the UN General Assembly.
The present crisis triggered after Kumaraswamy refused to hand over the reins of the chief minister’s office to the BJP. According to their agreement, the JD-S was to transfer power to its ally on Wednesday after Kumaraswamy’s 20-month term as chief minister ends.
Unhappy over the JD-S stance, 17 BJP ministers submitted their resignation to the chief minister Tuesday evening.