Page 16 - Tehelka-May18

CoverStory politics

he BJP — which emerged as the single larg- at the end of counting of votes it came tantalisingly
est party in the Karnataka Assembly polls close to 112 needed to form the government. “I thank
but fell eight seats short of a majority — fi- my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly
T nally managed to make its candidate BS Yed- supporting the BJP’s development agenda and mak-
dyurappa chief minister on May 17. After a high-volt- ing BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute
age legal battle in the Supreme Court over the issue, the stupendous work of BJP karyaakartas (workers)
Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the chief minister of who toiled round the clock and worked for the party,”
Karnataka for second time. The 75-year-old Lingayat tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was the
strongman has been given 15 days to prove his ma- main campaigner and the face of BJP in the assembly
jority in the Assembly. elections.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court had refused The Congress was confident of defeating the anti-
to stay Yeddyurappa’s swearing-in as Karnataka CM incumbency with its social engineering and emo-
after a rare pre-dawn hearing which saw the Con- tional regional appeal. Results show that the party
gress-JD (S) combine making a last-ditch attempt to overrated Chief Minister Siddarmaiah’s capability
stall the saffron party’s surge in the southern state. and almost gave him a free hand in choosing the
The apex court, which commenced the hearing at candidates. The man could not come up to the expec-
2.11 am and ended at 5.28 am, however, made it clear tations. However, the percentage of votes he could
that the swearing-in and the government formation secure for the party proves that had he worked out
in the state would be subject to the final outcome of a better management strategy, he would have won
the case before it. the elections.
The whole political drama of forming the govern- Siddaramaiah himself lost by a huge margin of
ment had begun soon after the results were out on 36,042 votes in his traditional constituency of Cha-
May 15. While the Congress had backed third-placed mundeshwari in Mysuru to JDS’ G T Deve Gowda. He,
rival JD(S) for a post-poll alliance in bid to keep the however, managed to scrape through in Badami in
saffron party out of power, Yeddyurappa had also north Karnataka, where he won by a slender mar-
staked claim to form the government. gin of 1,696 votes after a see-saw battle against BJP’s
Not everyone was happy with the Yeddyurappa’s B Sriramulu, a close associate of the mining baron
oath ceremony. Senior lawyer and jurist Ram Jeth- Reddy brothers. Yeddyurappa won the Shikaripura
malani moved the Supreme Court in his personal ca- seat by a margin of over 35,000 votes while Kumar-
pacity against the Karnataka governor’s decision to aswamy won convincingly in both Channapatna and
invite the BJP to form government in the state, saying Ramanagara.
it was a “gross abuse of constitutional power”. The free fall of the Congress in Karnataka – where
Accusing the BJP and the RSS of capturing every it shrank from 122 to 78 seats - was blamed largely on Yeddyurappa has
democratic institution in country, Congress presi- its failure to improve its standing among the state’s become Karnataka
CM for second time
dent Rahul Gandhi has lashed out at the BJP-led most backward castes despite CM Siddaramaiah fo-
government at the Centre, saying Constitution was cusing on them through schemes that provided free photos: kpn
under “severe attack” in the country where an at- milk to students and free grain to the poorest fami-
mosphere of fear prevailed. Puducherry Chief Min- lies. Of the 224 seats in Karnataka, 51 are reserved for Yeddyurappa says he will or second-runner up in 2013 in the same correspond-
ister V Narayanasamy has also slammed the Karna- scheduled castes and scheduled tribes; the Congress ing seats. These seats include Mallavali, Mandya, Naga-
taka Governor’s invite to Yeddyurappa to form the cornered just 18 as compared to 26 in the last poll. not wait for the 15 days mangala, Hunsur, Sakaleshwara, Srirangpatna, Devan-
government, saying the state now “witnesses mur- Siddarmaiah, according to experts, also ignored halli, Ramnagara and Channapatna.
der of democracy”. The senior Congress leader said the ground situations and social equations in differ- time given by the The Karnataka Pragyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) -
Vala’s action was not correct particularly when the ent parts of Karnataka. Local people say that he tried which was in turmoil due to the differences between its
Congress-JDS combine had the numerical strength to form a caste alliance which was not suitable for founders and actor Upendra - also opened its account, as
required to form the government. the state. In the process, he ended up gaining support Governor to prove its candidate R Shankar won Ranebennur constituency.
The BJP bagged 104 seats, a gain of 64 , while the of his own caste only. JDS successfully mobilized the Though an independent candidate has won Malur con-
Congress notched 78, a loss of 44 seats, though its support of dominant Vokaliggas and the BJP of Lin- the majority in the stituency, he is backed by the Congress.
vote share was nearly two percentage points more gayats. They are very in high numbers. The support of Rahul Gandhi and his party are facing challenges from
than the saffron party. The JD(S) secured 37 seats, Mayawati’s BSP also helped HD Deve Gowda’s party Assembly and vows to the non-BJP parties since drubbings in the UP assembly
down by three from its previous tally. In terms of to win more seats. polls last year in gaining the leadership of a proposed
vote share Congress secured 38 percent compared BSP, on its part, got its first ever MLA N Mahesh, seek vote of confidence anti-BJP front. Thus, the Karnataka polls were crucial in
to rival BJP’s 36.2 percent. elected from Kollegal seat, in the southern state and more than one ways. The defeat of SP-Congress alliance
In a roller-coaster ride for BJP, it initially appeared their first in 25 years, while the JDS won as many as had led non-Congress opposition parties to assert that he
that the party was set to return to power after a five- 11 out of 38 seat, piggybacking on support from Dalit- at the earliest was not fit enough to sway the polls.
year hiatus with a resounding majority. However, dominant outfit, in comparison to ending up as first Internally, a tough fight put up against Prime Minister

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