Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his cabinet have completed their 100 days in power in Karnataka. The coalition government between Janata Dal (Secular) and Congress whose leadership was offered to H D Kumaraswamy has faced a bumpy ride in this 100 day long journey and if the past is a precedent the next 100 days are not going to be any easier for the Karnataka CM either. From outbursts to meltdowns in public, accepting his secondary position even after being appointed as the CM in Karnataka, the son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda has faced all the humiliation he could. The story of his 100 day rule is a story of perseverance against all odds, of surviving with just sheer grit by his side and of not letting go of power even when it brought shame. The majority of disturbances in Kumaraswamy’s way came from the senior Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah was visibly upset ever since the rout of Congress in the Karnataka state elections, Congress entering into a coalition with JDS was also not appreciated much by Siddaramaiah. What hurt Siddaramaiah the most was him being completely sidelined in the government forming process; no post was offered to him in the newly formed cabinet either. Siddaramaiah had been against the JDS since day one of the election campaign and Congress offering the CM chair to JDS was more than enough for the senior leader. Siddaramaiah went all out against the new budget which Kumaraswamy had proposed, criticizing the JDS leader of having no ideas of his own and of using the Congress. He also raised apprehensions about the duration for which the JDS-Congress alliance would carry on in under a month of the government being formed in the state. There also had been a tussle for every portfolio allocation in the state cabinet, first between the JDS and Congress and then between MLAs from both the parties over who gets what, greed was on full display.
Next came allegations of tax evasion on H D Kumaraswamy and his family members, the allegations came from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The fact that BBMP is run by the coalition of JDS and Congress makes the matter even more interesting. Was it another inside hit job on the Karnataka CM from the disgruntled Congress leader and his cronies? Whatever be the case, Kumaraswamy survived this too but only to shed tears in front of the public. Breaking down at a public event, he expressed deep discontentment over the coalition government in state, which according to him was proving difficult to run. Kumaraswamy said, “All of you are happy because your elder or younger brother has become the chief minister. But I am not happy. I am swallowing my own pain like poison, like Vishakantha (Lord Shiva, who drank poison to save the world).’’ Thus admitting that all was not right between Congress and JDS in Karnataka and power was not where it belonged. Congress with its 80 MLAs was forcing JDS which had just 37 MLAs to perform as per their whims; Congress had reduced the Karnataka CM to a puppet whose strings lay in the Congress’s hands.
In August when the local body elections in Karnataka were announced, Congress and JDS both decided to fight the elections separately, signalling all was not well in the coalition. Dissatisfaction is looming large in Karnataka between party leaders and the citizens alike. Conspiracy theories of Siddaramaiah joining BJP with some other MLAs have been doing the rounds. There is no such thing as a smooth sailing operation in the state, and a large scale patchwork is needed between the two parties. While Kumaraswamy deserves to be praised for reaching the 100 day mark, he needs to be aware of how difficult the next 100 days are going to be for his government. Keeping his eyes open will help the JDS CM survive for the next 100 days a feat which would be commendable considering how fast the situations in politics can change.