BENGALURU:With a day to go for H D Kumaraswamy to be sworn in as
Karnataka chief minister, intense lobbying continued in the
Congress and JD(S) camps for ministerial berths and critical portfolios.
Within Congress, there is a demand for the younger lot to be finally given their due while keeping the caste and region arithmetic in fine balance. In JD(S), the old Mysuru region will have the lion’s share of representation. MLCs of both groups are also eyeing ministerial berths.
All indications are that JD (S) supremo H D
Deve Gowda will have the final say in ministry formation. The family has decided that Kumaraswamy’s wife Anitha will contest from Ramanagara seat which her husband has vacated.
There had was speculation that the couple’s actor son Nikhil might make his political debut from this seat. That possibility has been postponed for the time being. The two parties continued the strict watch on their MLAs and had them sequestered in hotels and resorts.
The JD(S) camp has been the most peripatetic. From a star hotel in the town centre, they moved to the one where Congress MLAs were staying (near the airport) on Sunday night and were shifted to another resort on Monday. While their leaders insisted that they did not fear any defections, they were not willing to take a chance.
The CM-designate, before flying to New Delhi to meet Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, went to his home district Hassan with his wife and offered prayers at four different temples.
He and his family are expected to visit Sringeri and offer puja on Tuesday ahead of the swearingin ceremony. The ceremony will take place in front of the Vidhana Soudha (like B S Yeddyurappa did). Pujas were offered on Monday at the site by the Gowda family’s priests.
A galaxy of opposition leaders is expected to descend on Bengaluru on Wednesday. And, what better backdrop than the majestic Vidhana Soudha to send asignal of opposition unity? Among those likely to attend are
Mayawati of BSP, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, CPM leader
Sitaram Yechury and CMs of Kerala (Pinarayi Vijayan), Telangana (K C Rao), Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal) and Andhra (Chandrababu Naidu).
The Gandhis are expected to be there as are the Yadavs of UP and Bihar. Naveen Patnaik of Odisha has also been invited. Also, leaders of Congress and JD(S) tried to tamp down expectations vis-a-vis implementing their manifestos.
