Congress to pull the plug on Karnataka coalition? Siddaramaiah makes move

The coalition government in Karnataka looks tattered even though the Congress-JD(S) alliance is releasing its one-year achievement book after completing 13 months of its rule in the state, on Thursday.

The alliance between the two parties might soon come to an end after the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah asked the party president Rahul Gandhi to reconsider their partnership with JD(S) at a meeting on Wednesday as the party has lost its hold on the public.

The Congress leaders discussed several issues that have fractured the party in Karnataka including the disgruntled leaders who had quit the party and the outburst among the leaders against the state leadership. The party had also dissolved the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and removed all 290 office-bearers except for its working president Dinesh Gundu Rao on Wednesday due to its utter failure in the state.

According to the sources, Siddaramaiah feels that the coalition government in Karnataka has benefited JD(S) and its supremo HD Deve Gowda and Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy more than the Congress. There are many in the Congress who contend that the pre-poll alliance with the JD(S) in the Lok Sabha polls cost the party at least five to six seats with heavyweights like Mallikarjun Kharge, KH Muniyappa and M Veerappa Moily biting the dust, reports Deccan Chronicle.

The party sources claim that many of the traditional votes belonging to Congress were transferred to the BJP due to their alliance with the JD(S). It is also alleged that many of the local party workers of JD(S) did not work for the Congress candidates. The party had lost many of its seats due to the mismanagement at the grass root level and senior party leaders lost the space.

In the wake of the recent elections, both Congress and JD(S) had secured only one seat each while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had taken 26 seats out of the total 28. Siddaramaiah was never fond of partnering with JD(S) but the 2018 polls had left them with no choice as the saffron surge had swept the assembly seats and they had to tie-up with JD(S) to keep BJP at bay.