The 2018 Karnataka assembly elections are witnessing another twist as Congress is said to have agreed to join hands with Janata Dal (Secular) and agreed to give the post of the Chief Minister to HD Kumaraswamy.
The 2018 Karnataka assembly elections have been a prestigious battle for both Congress and BJP, which have been vocal against each other to grab the power in the state. The pre-poll and exit poll results predicted that the state would have hung assembly and JD(S) would play a crucial role in forming the next government.
The counting is taking place today in Karnataka and the final verdict is yet to be announced by the Election Commission. If we are to go by the early trends, BJP is going to emerge as the single largest party with 107 seats, but it will not cross the magical mark needed to form the government.
The buzz is that Congress and JD(S) are already in talks to form the next government in the state. It is reported that Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad spoke to JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda over the phone and extended his party's support to him. Azad also reportedly agreed to give the CM's post to Gowda's son HD Kumaraswamy.
After getting the green signal, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi also spoke to Deve Gowda over the phone. Later, CK Jafer Sharif reportedly visited Deve Gowda's residence in Padmanabha Nagar in Bangalore and the two leaders reportedly had a discussion on sharing of portfolios within the two parties.
It is reported that the Congress has agreed to give the CM's post to JD(S) and will keep the Deputy CM's post. HD Kumaraswamy met the governor in the evening along with Congress leader G Parmeshwara, Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar.
After submitting the letter to the governor, Parameshwara addressed the media and said, "Congress party has decided to extend an unconditional support to JD(S) to form the government. We have conveyed the same to the Governor through a letter. The next process will take place after the governor's decision."
Later, Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy also spoke to the media and conveyed the same. They said that the governor has assured to reply after reviewing the winners' list released by the Election Commission.
However, all these developments have not gone down well with some people, who took to Twitter to take a dig at the Congress-JD(S) alliance, which they called it unfair as the BJP is the single largest party.
Rahul Kanwal tweeted, "Sonia Gandhi reaches out to Deve Gowda through Ghulam Nabi Azad. Congress offers CMship to JDS. This would be pathetic. BJP won fair and square. Sneaking in from the back door would be a negation of the mandate."
Avinandan Choudhury tweeted, "If BJP is denied a govt it will hugely strengthen their campaign for 2019 in the state. Cannot compare #KarnatakaElectionResults with Goan Manipur. difference between seats of top two parties were far lesser. It's not about proportion but the magnitude of voters you will betray."
