JD(S) tieup hurt Congress but no breakup now

Bengaluru: The Congress high command has reportedly come to the conclusion that it made a serious error of judgment by tying up with the JD(S) for the Lok Sabha polls but is reportedly not keen on crossing the brink by  breaking the alliance with Mr H.D. Deve Gowda's party as it will only lead to the collapse of the coalition government and help the BJP sweep back to power.

Karnataka is one of the few states the Congress is in power albeit in a coalition, with the BJP or regional parties seizing power in most otherstates.   

In the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress tally fell from 10 to just one in the state and equally disappointing was the performance of the JD(S) with its tally reduced to one from two. The Congress debacle came up for review during a meeting Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah had with party president  Rahul Gandhi, one on one early Wednesday morning at his residence in Delhi. Sources said the two leaders agreed that the Congress should not have gone to the LS polls jointly with JD (S) and would have won seven or eight seats of the 28 in Karnataka if it had fought the polls on its own.

But contrary to reports which appeared in the media on Thursday, Mr Siddaramaiah did not actually recommend withdrawal from the coalition with the JD(S) to Mr Gandhi despite the problems the two parties have been facing in the last one year in power.

"They discussed the pros and cons and arrived at a view that a pullout would be detrimental to the Congress and would only benefit the BJP. They felt the coalition government should be allowed to continue undisturbed till early next year when party leaders could meet and decide on the future," sources said.

 It was after the meeting between Mr Gandhi and Mr Siddaramaiah that the KPCC was dissolved with its president Dinesh Gundurao, considered close to Siddaramaiah, allowed to continue by Mr Gandhi, sources explained.

This also goes to prove that Siddaramaiah, despite attempts by a section of Congress leaders to browbeat him and blame him for the Congress rout, continues to be numero in the Karnataka Congress and enjoys the confidence of the party top brass.