Survival, which is perhaps the biggest achievement of the H.D. Kumaraswamy led Janata Dal (Secular)–Congress coalition government over the past one year, is also its biggest challenge on the first anniversary of its formation.
Since 2008, Karnataka has had State Assembly elections exactly a year before the Lok Sabha elections. Not surprisingly then, the past three governments have begun their tenure and made their policies keeping the upcoming Parliamentary elections in mind. Mr. Kumaraswamy is no exception to this pattern. While his predecessors B.S. Yeddyurappa and Siddaramaiah were expected to perform well in order to stay in office, and contain any opposition to their leadership from within their parties, the Kumaraswamy government’s survival itself was predicated on Congress – JD(S) coalition’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections. If BJP were to perform well both in Karnataka and across India, this government wasn’t expected to survive.
Since Karnataka went to polls a month ago, political talk across the State has been primarily about how Congress and JD(S) strongholds are in play for BJP candidates. A majority of the exit polls seem to confirm such speculation and indicate a much higher tally for BJP than expected when the elections were announced in March.