Karnataka political drama: The political drama in Karnataka just refuses to end. In yet another twist, a faction of the Janata Dal – Secular MLAs has demanded party chief HD Kumaraswamy to extend support to the Bharatiya Janata Party government. BJP’s BS Yediyurappa took oath on Friday as Karnataka chief minister for the fourth time. Yediyurappa is likely to face floor test in the Assembly on Monday.
A meeting of the JD-S was held at Bengaluru’s Taj West End Hotel during which Kumaraswamy was told by one of the groups of his MLAs that the party should support the BJP government from outside. The other group was of the view that the party should sit in the opposition, Hindustan Times reported.
Also Read: Yediyurappa: Comeback man who has surmounted the odds
The leaders have left the final decision on Kumaraswamy, former minister GT Deve Gowda told the daily.
“We (MLAs) discussed the future course of action. Some have suggested that we should sit in opposition, while some legislators are of the opinion that we should support the BJP from outside,” he said.
Remarkably, the JD-S had slammed the BJP accusing it of toppling the coalition government during the debate over no confidence motion in the state Assembly three days ago. The JD-S has been blaming the BJP of backing the 16 rebel MLAs who ensured the downfall of 14-month-old Kumaraswamy government.
Though chances of JD-S, BJP alliance look bleak at present, the two parties have aligned in the past. Kumaraswamy had walked out of an alliance with the Congress to join hands with the BJP in 2006.
Both the parties had then agreed on a power sharing formula of 20 months each with Kumaraswamy as chief minister and Yediyurappa as his deputy. However, the JD-S had then refused to transfer power to the BJP triggering the collapse of the government. The BJP later won the Assembly elections in 2008.