Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy in an emotional outburst said that running the present coalition is like drinking poison. The Congress said that running a collation is a tough game, and Kumaraswamy should be prepared to handle it courageously.

The Print asks- Kumaraswamy’s poison remark: Bad news for 2019 opposition unity or can Congress be a reliable ally?

What you saw was a moment of weakness, after all Kumaraswamy is a human being too

Dinesh Gundurao
Karnataka Congress President

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy wanted to convey something emotional at the meeting, but it came out in a different way. He wanted to talk about the pressures of work and how he is handling the coalition so that his party workers understand how hard he is working. It is important to remember that he did not even mention the Congress in his speech.

There will be problems whether it is a coalition government or a single party, and the chief minister should be able to handle it. It was an emotional outburst, which one should not overplay. He is also not getting enough media support for the amount of work that we as a coalition are doing. He is being criticized and there are hurtful social media campaigns saying #NotMyCM. What you saw was a moment of weakness and after all he is a human being too.

As a coalition partner, the Congress party has given him full support and we want to tell him that we will go to the 2019 elections as an united front.

One must not forget that during elections we fought against each other as opponents, so we will need time to settle, to iron out differences. We have supported the JD-S for the farm loan waiver, we made Kumaraswamy the CM, so we have and will continue to support the coalition government.

Give us some time to settle down to a proper working relationship, structure coordination and cement our relationship in such a way that we would seem like two arms of the same body. We are united and will remain a sincere partner.

For us in JD(S), the survival of this coalition is bigger than the party itself

Tanveer Ahmed
JD(S) Spokesperson

The important part here is to see who Kumaraswamy was addressing. It was not a public platform or a public meeting; he was addressing his own party workers and office-bearers who have been working for him. He was emotional and felt that if the party workers had put in their best efforts, he would not be in such a sad situation today. His statement was to boost the morale of the cadre and ask them to resume groundwork. He wanted to communicate that there was a lot of work to do and they should set their sight on 2019. There will be many tough questions that they would have to face and if they start work now, they will be able to reap benefits.

I agree that Kumaraswamy is an emotional person, he did cry, but certain people have a way of showing emotions. Kumaraswamy is a softhearted person, and a caring man, and so he said what he felt. At this time I would like to quote what Deve Gowda ji tells all of us, “Adhikaaram, Yudh Bhayam” or ‘where there is power, there will be war’. And this is a war-like situation and we have to face it.

Statements are being made by several people, Kharge has his own way of expressing it, Kumaraswamy has his. Let’s be clear about the reason for forming this coalition. For us, the survival of this coalition is bigger than the party itself and it is not that PM Modi did not offer Kumaraswamy the post of the chief minister. We had to think of the greater good and how we preserve the country’s secular fabric and so we went with the Congress. That is what is important to us. And this move will haunt Modi in the 2019 elections, for sure.

Cracks in Karnataka coalition don’t bode well for opposition unity in 2019

Kalyani Shankar
Political columnist

It was indeed surprising to see the new Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy shedding tears in public and claiming that he was swallowing poison like Lord Shiva. Why did he cry? At one level, it is a sign of admission that he has not been able to run the JD(S)-Congress coalition government. He must have been really reaching the end of his patience with the senior partner, the Congress, not cooperating with him.

At another level, it could also be due to the lack of chemistry. Kumaraswamy’s predecessor, Siddaramaiah, is believed to be behind his problems because the latter is still fuming over the Congress sidelining him and continues to enjoy a following among the legislators. In fact, Siddaramaiah left the JD(S) in 2006 when he felt that Deve Gowda was promoting his son Kumaraswamy.

It is not a good sign for opposition unity when the coalition in Karnataka is not working well within two months of its formation. Cracks have already appeared over several issues, including portfolios and waiver of farm loans. In such a scenario, what happens to the larger opposition unity, which was projected during Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in ceremony?

It is important for the opposition to stick together, at least until 2019 polls, to take on the BJP. If the coalition collapses before that, it will only benefit the BJP-led NDA as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hoping for divisions in the opposition ranks.

Many are also suspecting the Kumaraswamy camp of attempting some behind-the-scene moves to strike a deal with the BJP, which could sabotage opposition unity. Whatever it is, the signals from Karnataka are ominous for the opposition.

Compiled by Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at ThePrint.