The Karnataka Election verdict is finally out! The Bharatiya Janta Party has grabbed the maximum number of seats, 104 out of 222 to be precise. The ruling party, Congress limited itself to 78 and Janta Dal (Secular) got 37 seats in its bag. The BJP supporters are on cloud nine for getting the party on top of the chart. However, the Congress has aligned itself with the JD(S) and has played the masterstroke by putting H.D. Kumarswamy at the front, to form the government. This ‘unconditional’ love of Congress towards Kumarswamy is a beautiful sight to watch. For there are sacrifices.
Yes, former CM Siddaramaiah got himself in the backseat. This has been done to get the JD(S) itch cured, one of the biggest hurdles in the way of JD(S) to align with Congress.
Now that H.D. Kumarswamy’s name has been proposed by the INC-JD(S) align, it would be interesting to see, how BJP counters the game now.
The Kingmaker now wants to be the King
There had been enough of melodrama in Karnataka in the last few days. H.D. Kumarswamy, all this time, was playing the role of a ‘kingmaker’. He projected that he and his party would support neither Siddaramaiah nor Yeddyurappa. Though, the former Prime Minister H.D. Dewe Gowda, who is also father of Kumarswamy along with our current Prime Minister Narendra Modi did drop subtle hints that JD(S) might support BJP in the game.
Both the Congress and BJP had been in talks with JD(S) much before the election, to mould him according to their ideologies and actions. However, pre-poll alliance couldn’t come into the play.
The game has changed swiftly and how! Now, H.D. Kumarswamy is not being the kingmaker. He realised that a desperate congress would do anything to retain some power in the state and with it’s support, Kumarswamy wants to be the king. By Tuesday evening, Kumarswamy had sought an appointment with the Governor of Karnataka, Vajubhai Vala, to speak about forming next government in Karnataka.
Governor Vala has accepted the letter of Kumarswamy. He said that he would inform the party about his decision later. But, here lies the pickle. BS Yeddyurappa has also submitted a letter and has laid the claim of forming the government in the state. Reason? BJP has emerged as the single largest party.
Who should be given the priority to prove the majority by the Governor?
Technically, the alliance or the party, whoever gets the maximum number of seats in the election, is asked to prove the majority in the house, in order to form the government. However, it all depends on the Governor of the state, whom he would call first to prove the majority.
When there is no clear majority, the Governor takes the call. The same was done when the then President K.R. Narayanan had asked Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee to prove the majority on the floor of the house within the definite time-frame.
It can be repeated, and it is the anticipation of many, at least for now! There are many reasons that support this theory. One of them is, Governor Vajubhai Vala has been the proud member of RSS, a loyalist of the Bharatiya Janta Party. The icing on the cake is, his love for PM Narendra Modi is not hidden. Or, it can be said, had Vala not vacated seat in 2002, the journey of Mr. Modi from CM to PM would have been entirely different. Yes, Vala had vacated his seat for PM Modi to contest the election after Keshubhai Patel had to step down from the throne of CM in 2002.
Both the BJP and INC-JD(S) alliance have written to Governor Vala, in order to get a green signal for forming the next government in Karnataka. But let’s see, who wins the race now!
What does the Aam Janta of Karnataka want?
Almost every constituency where PM Modi had campaigned, is won by BJP. However, not surprisingly, almost every constituency where the Congress President Rahul Gandhi had campaigned for Congress, is lost! In addition to this, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath campaigned for the BJP. And it definitely proved useful!
So, What’s the take here?
Karnataka has voted without the agenda of religion, castes, and the newly provoked fear of ‘Hindutva’. At least the number of winning seats marks this fact to the core!