The fractured mandate of the 2018 Assembly elections in Karnataka with no party getting a clear majority left the formation of the government in limbo until the BJP which emerged as the single-largest party rushed in to stake its claim, and BS Yediyurappa was sworn in as chief minister. However, to its utter dismay, the BJP then lost the trust vote to the Congress-JD(S) coalition led by HD Kumaraswamy and Mr Yediyurappa’s first stint of Chief Ministership in the current Assembly ended in just three days.
The BJP’s ascension to power for the second term on the back of a landslide victory in a recently concluded Lok Sabha elections including its roaring comeback in Karnataka, has in fact emboldened it to engineer efforts that could unravel the non-BJP coalition government in the state. After weeks of political drama, the 14-month old Congress-JD(S) coalition ended last week with the ruling coalition losing the confidence motion in the Assembly and thereby paving way for the BJP to take over the reins of the government. In a sense, Yediyurappa who is now sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka for the second time in the current house, has had the last laugh.
All this began with several coalition MLAs withdrawing their support to the Kumaraswamy-led government and tendering their resignations to the speaker. The resignation of 17 MLAs including two independents pushed the government to the brink of collapse. Sensing attempts of switching loyalties by the rebel MLAs, the Speaker Ramesh Kumar instead disqualified them which however had no bearing on the floor test held on July 29. The BJP, which remains the single-largest party with 105 seats, won the trust vote smoothly in the Assembly – now shrunken to 208 members.
Though Mr Yediyurappa has had his moments, completing his fourth term won’t be without challenges. In his last three stints as chief minister of Karnataka, Yediyurappa never completed his full term. The 17 disqualified MLAs who await relief from the Supreme Court could turn the tables on the Yediyurappa-led BJP government if they are not given ministerial berths. Yediyurappa faces a daunting task of placating MLAs from his own party and thereby thwarting any dissension within the party.
Moreover, the four-time CM has to ensure that the BJP wins the vacant seats in by-polls so that the now-collapsed coalition doesn’t have enough space to spring back to reenact the same political skulduggery. Besides, the CM has to immediately deal with drought and shortage of water in the state which has witnessed weeks of political drama and no governance at all. While there could be chances of karma haunting back, we still keep our fingers crossed as far as Yediyurappa’s fate siding with him is concerned this time around.
Note: the author is a social activist and journalist and can be contacted at subashdeb@gmail.com.