Fresh polls the best way to resolve K’taka mess

There are two undeniable dimensions to the unprepossessing saga that produced the ignominious defeat of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka led by JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy in a confidence vote on Tuesday.

In turns the sorry saga caused amusement and dismay. The voter was on no one’s mind. Events in Bengaluru showed that what passes for democracy in this country is a snakes-and-ladder game for politicians, with people being excluded from consideration except at election time.

After the fall of the Kumaraswamy government on the floor of the House, BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa, who remains hyper-ambitious at the age of 76 and is expected to succeed Mr Kumaraswamy as chief minister, said without a trace of irony: “This is a victory for democracy.” He must hope that he will be taken at his word.

The notion of politics and the notion of morality are the two aspects of life in the modern context that have taken a beating in Karnataka for some years: this was underscored once again after the 2018 Assembly elections.

No party won a majority. The BJP, the single largest party, was invited by the governor to form a government. But Mr Yeddyurappa, its leader, threw in the towel in three days as his miserable horse-trading attempts failed to attract enough support. Rather than take a vote of confidence, he resigned.

It's in this situation that the Congress and JD(S), who had fought one another bitterly in the election, lustily came together to form a coalition government. But they threw the basic ideals of politics to the winds. After Mr Yeddyurappa couldn't form the government, a failure of the Congress-JD(S) combine to work together would lead to fresh polls. The two parties refused to appreciate this, and fought like Kilkenny cats.

The JD(S), the junior partner, bagged the CM’s post. This was a thoroughly bad idea. This set off heartburn in the faction-riven Congress. Not a day passed when Congress’ most important leader and former CM Siddaramaiah was not up to his tricks, reducing CM Kumaraswamy to a wreck. Governance was at a discount. The utter failure of politics was on display.

In this fragile moment, the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, sending out signals especially to warring Congress factions that the party to be with was the BJP in the changing political atmosphere. Mr Yeddyurappa, a veteran of horse-trading, seized his moment. Coalition MLAs were spirited away to Mumbai to keep them from voting for the parties on whose ticket they had been elected. Morality in public life took a nonstop beating for the weeks that ruling side MLAs were held in Mumbai by the BJP, with or without their consent.

Ideally, only fresh polls can clear the air. But the chances of an unsteady and corrupt government being formed look considerably higher.