By V.S. Karnic, IANS
Bangalore : The image of Karnataka and especially IT hub Bangalore – already dented by unsavoury political happenings in recent weeks – faces further erosion as political parties have begun a nasty campaign ahead of the assembly polls expected early next year.
The 225-member legislative assembly, including one nominated member, still has 19 months of tenure left. With the union cabinet deciding to get parliament’s approval for President’s Rule and then dissolving the assembly, polls are likely in April/May next year.
The Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) is the villain for the other two major parties in the state – the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It aligned with both the parties to enjoy power for 40 months and brought down their governments when the arrangement did not suit it.
Of the two, the BJP is more bitter as it was led up the garden path twice in 21 months. First it was in February 2006 when JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy became chief minister with BJP support, promising to make way for its leader B.S. Yeddyurappa after 20 months.
He did not keep his word and the BJP pulled out of the alliance Oct 5 and started a massive campaign against his betrayal. As the campaign was picking up momentum, Kumaraswamy and his father and JD-S president H.D. Deve Gowda, a former prime minister, lured the party back with an offer of unconditional support Oct 27.
But Nov 19, when Yeddyurappa, sworn in as chief minister Nov 12, was to prove his majority in the state assembly, the JD-S decided to vote against him.
Since then there has been daily protests by BJP workers in some part of Karnataka with effigies of Gowda and Kumaraswamy being burnt.
The party is formally re-launching its ‘Dharma Yuddha’ (holy war) against JD-S betrayal from Sunday. It had started the ‘Dharma Yuddha’ Oct 5 but called it off as Gowda and Kumaraswamy agreed to support the party.
Gowda has threatened to come on to the streets and prove his strength if the BJP continues what he calls its ‘indecent’ protests against him and his family.
Yeddyurappa has accused Gowda of indulging in ‘black magic’ to eliminate him. Local papers had recently carried photographs of a spot showing what appeared to be remains from a ‘yagna’ and said there were traces of blood as well, indicating some sort of animal sacrifice.
Yeddyurappa has threatened to write a will stating that Gowda and Kumaraswamy should be held responsible if anything untoward happens to him.
Gowda has dismissed the accusations, saying it was too demeaning for him to react to them. Kumaraswamy too has hit back at Yeddyurappa for taking credit for making him chief minister.
“He (Yeddyurappa) had come to me seeking to join the JD-S and wanted Rs.50 million to be paid to him as he wanted to settle his dues with Ananth Kumar, the BJP national general secretary,” Kumaraswamy claimed.
Meanwhile, both the parties claim to have dossiers on each other’s corrupt dealings. “We will expose the corruption of the Gowda family,” Yeddyurappa asserted while addressing his party workers.
“I too have a long list of the corrupt dealings of the BJP in the state and will release it at an appropriate time,” said Gowda.
The two parties have also appealed to Governor Rameshwar Thakur to scrutinise the decisions taken just before their governments fell in October and November.
“How did Kumaraswamy approve a township project involving millions of rupees when BJP ministers had already resigned in early October?” Yeddurappa questioned while urging the governor to cancel the decision.
Kumaraswamy shot back: “What is he talking about? He decided to award a contract to a private party for building two airports in the state even before he proved his majority in the assembly. The governor should look into this.”
Yeddyurappa has offered to support any resident of Karnataka hauling up Kumaraswamy and other JD-S legislators before the court for breach of trust as they had gone back on their word after submitting a sworn affidavit of support to a government headed by him.
Although the Congress party is not exactly enjoying the charges and counter-charges between the BJP and the JD-S, they hope to benefit during the assembly elections.
The Congress too lacks a strong leadership in the state to exploit the situation for its advantage. In fact, it is wary that early polls may benefit the BJP because of possible public sympathy over its being ‘betrayed’ twice by the JD-S.
However, the Congress is launching its ‘Janandolana’ (people’s protest movement) all over the state soon to tell voters of the BJP and JD-S’ hunger for power.
For the next five to six months, the people of Karnataka and the large number of domestic and foreign visitors to its IT hub will have to bear with, and grin at, the political slug-fest.