MLAs from Old Mysore region claim price for their loyalty

The freshly knit alliance between the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress is expected to face its first test of viability during the impending ministry-making exercise, with newly elected legislators belonging to both parties from the Old Mysore region already angling for plum berths.
Even though regional and caste representation determines the composition of the ministries, the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysore region, which has been most vociferous in its support of H.D. Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister, returning the highest number of JD(S) members to the Legislative Assembly, could come under focus during the allocation of ministerial berths.
However, JD(S) leaders in the region say the party leadership will be wary of according disproportionate representation to its MLAs from the region and will be accommodative of the aspirations of its coalition partner also. “As the JD(S) is getting the coveted post of Chief Minister, the party will make efforts to keep its partner in good humour,” a JD(S) leader said.
The Congress, which had gained an upper hand in the Assembly after the 2013 polls, has now ceded its position to the JD(S) after a round of bitter campaigning in the run-up to the elections.
Even if voices of dissent are raised by members of either of the two parties over the ministry-making exercise or the subsequent appointment of chairpersons or members of boards and corporations, the coordination committee of the two parties will make efforts to sort out the matter amicably, said leaders of both parties.
For, continuation of the alliance is in the interest of both. “Petty differences at the local level are bound to be patched up as the senior leaders of both parties, at the national as well as State level, are committed to the coalition. It is a question of survival for the two parties by keeping the BJP at bay. The coalition will be serving to prepare the ground for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and will be under the watch of leaders of both parties,” said a Congress leader.
A former MLA from the Congress said: “The situation is not like it was in 2004. Even though the coming together of the two parties was preceded by animosity during the campaign, the two parties will have to reconcile to the changed situation.”
Even though BJP leaders such as Shobha Karandlaje and former Minister K. Eshwarappa, who were in Mysuru on Monday, predicted an early collapse of the coalition, JD(S) and Congress leaders say the alliance’s boat is unlikely to be rocked soon, at least until 2019.

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