Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, May 23: The NDA ringing victory across the nation and the BJP with its landslide victory in Karnataka, winning 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats, could trigger a countdown for the fall of the fragile Congress-JD(S) coalition in the state.

The poll results came as a rude shock to Congress as well as JD(S) in the state as they saw the fall of political stalwarts such as Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in Kalaburagi, former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda in Tumakuru, senior Congress leaders Veerappa Moily and K H Muniyappa who were trailing BJP candidates in Chikkaballapur and Kolar.

File Photo

Meanwhile, for BJP, the 2019 poll is the biggest ever mandate in Karnataka, crossing its previous high of 19 seats in 2009. In 2014, BJP had won 17 seats, while Congress won nine and JD(S) two.

The JD(S), which fielded three members of the Deve Gowda family in the seven seats given to the party by the Congress, saw Prajwal Revanna establishing a clear lead in Hassan.

But it was not the same for CM Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumraswamy, who is trailing way behind BJP-backed independent candidate Sumalatha, wife of late actor Ambareesh.

The failure of the coalition to secure a lead in Karnataka could lead to the collapse of the one-year old coalition government led by H D Kumaraswamy. With internal conflicts already making headlines in public, the LS poll result could lead to possibilities of Congress and JD(S) members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) defecting to the BJP. Several BJP leaders including state president B S Yeddyurappa have repeatedly said that over 20 Congress MLAs are ready to jump ship and join the BJP.

In March, Yeddyurappa had come out with a challenge, saying that if his party won 22 or more seats, he would become the chief minister of Karnataka within 24 hours.

During the 2018 Karnataka state elections, having won 104 seats, BJP failed to secure majority 113 seats. As a result, JD(S) with 38 seats and Congress with 77 seats came together to form the government.

But the past one year has been turbulent for CM Kumaraswamy. On one end, he had to maintain the ‘coalition dharma’ and on the other resist BJP's attempts to lure MLAs. There were allegations of horse-trading with some MLAs confessing that they were offered large amounts of money and promises of ministerial berth if they join BJP.

Meanwhile, everything was not well within the coalition. The friction between the coalition partners led to several leaders from both parties giving sharp statements to the media. This could be one of the main reason the BJP’s vote share did not transfer to the Congress-JD(S) combine.

BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa who has been predicting the fall of the coalition soon after the LS poll results, told media it is time to 'wait and watch'.

While thanking people for their trust in BJP, he said now it is time Congress and JD(S) leaders take a decision. When asked if the government will collapse, he said, "I saw on TV that the JD(S) state president Vishwanath has resigned, but let us wait till tomorrow and see what happens. We are also awaiting decisions from the central leadership."

Senior BJP leader R Ashok told the media on Thursday afternoon that Kumaraswamy should resign immediately. The chief minister himself has called a meeting of the coalition leaders on Friday May 24 to review the situation. It would be interesting to see what happens in the political scene of the state in the next few weeks.