Congress, JD(S) become post-poll pals in Karnataka to keep topper BJP out

Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single-largest party in Karnataka on Tuesday but fell slightly short of a clear majority required to form government.

The mandate, however fractured, proved the BJP with 100-plus seats had made significant gains from last term's 40 to boot out the Congress from one of its last bastions. In 2013, the Congress had formed the government with 122 seats. This time, it managed less than 80.

The third leg in this contest -- Janata Dal (Secular) -- widely touted as the kingmaker, managed to hold on to its clout to give the Congress an outside chance to form a coalition government.

As soon as it became clear the BJP would not be able to form government on its own, a desperate Congress reached out to the JD(S) -- offering support from outside. The JD(S) was happy to have that support, it is learnt, particularly since the Congress unconditionally offered party leader H D Kumaraswamy the chief minister's post. Kumaraswamy in the past has gone to great lengths to hang on to that chair.

Results were clear by evening -- the BJP was way ahead of Congress with 104 seats to the incumbent party's 78, while the JD(S) won 37 seats. A party requires 112 seats to get a clean majority in the state Assembly.

By early evening, both the BJP and the newly-minted friends Congress-JD(S) made a mad dash for Raj Bhavan to stake claim on the government.

BJP's chief minister aspirant B S Yeddyurappa was the first to meet Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala and requested he be given time to prove majority.

Senior Congress-JD(S) leaders met Vala soon after and informed him about the new alliance which had the numbers to form government.

The JD(S)' last outing with the Congress, however, had ended in betrayal.

When the 2004 Assembly elections returned a fractured mandate, JD(S) joined the Congress to form government, which was led by Congress’ Dharam Singh. Within two years, JD(S) chief Deve Gowda’s son H D Kumaraswamy split the party, toppled the Dharam Singh-led government and became chief minister of a coalition with the BJP.

The idea was to be in the chief minister’s post for 20 months and then hand it over to Yeddyurappa for the next 20.

But when time came to get up from the seat in end 2007, both Kumaraswamy and Deve Gowda sat tight, leading to President’s rule. The Governor then invited Yeddyurappa to form the next government. Kumaraswamy, of course, supported the government, and saw it through till the end of term.

Counting began in 222 constituencies of the 224-seat Assembly sharp at 8 am on Tuesday. Voting was not held in two seats.

Most exit polls had predicted a hung Assembly in Karnataka with the JD(S) emerging a likely kingmaker.

The Congress’ presence in the country has drastically shrunk since the BJP decisively won the general elections in 2014. Ever since, it has ousted the Congress in a dozen states, and has now sidelined the party in one of its last bastions – Karnataka.

The Congress rules three states – Punjab, Mizoram and Puducherry. Karnataka will be some consolation if it can swing the deal with the JD(S).

The BJP’s tally of states has risen from 7 in 2014 to 21.

In the outgoing Assembly in Karnataka, Congress had 122 seats, the BJP and JD(S) 40 each and independents and smaller parties 22.

The Congress had hoped to get a second term in Karnataka by beating the general anti-incumbency streak in the state. No party has come back a second term in nearly 30 years. Unfortunately, the Congress fared poorly in all eight regions of the state.

The Congress’ pathetic performance has also dimmed any high hopes party president Rahul Gandhi might have had of being a serious challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 general elections.

The BJP, on the other hand, has improved vote and seat share since 2013. The Prime Minister’s decision to waive farm loans has gone down well with farmers as the party did well in the rural belt. It also came out trumps in the coastal belt, central and Mumbai Karnataka.

The JD(S) retained the Mysuru belt, and may become the king rather than the kingmaker if the chief-minister deal with the Congress comes through.