Ahead of the first anniversary of the coalition government and the much-awaited Lok Sabha results on May 23, sparring between leaders of the coalition parties has refused to die down. Veteran Janata Dal (S) MLC and former Minster Basavaraj Horatti on Saturday favoured dissolution of the Legislative Assembly and the holding of fresh elections to end the daily verbal exchanges between leaders of the JD(S) and Congress.

Soon after this, JD(S) State president A.H. Vishwanath dismissed the suggestion as Mr. Horatti’s personal view. “It has nothing to do with the party,” he said. Going a step further, Mr. Vishwanath also said Mr. Horatti has never won an election to the Assembly and has no idea about the difficulties faced and the expenditure incurred while contesting in such an election. “He has always been elected to the Legislative Council, where the number of voters is very small in comparison,” he said.

As the threat of another verbal exchange loomed large, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy called for restraint on all sides. “We are on the verge of formation of a new government at the Centre. At this juncture, where all efforts are being made to form a non-BJP government at the Centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners #Congress-#JDS may mar such efforts,” he tweeted.

In another tweet, he said both the JD(S) and Congress should respond positively to the efforts to form a non-BJP government at the Centre and not issue controversial statements at this juncture.

Earlier in the day in Bagalkot, Mr. Horatti praised Mr. Kumaraswamy for “doing good work as Chief Minister” during the past one year of the coalition rule. However, he added that a “suffocating” political atmosphere was hampering his functioning.

He did not rule out the possibility of the Governor himself dissolving the Assembly citing a breakdown of administration. “Before we reach such a stage, it is better to dissolve the government and go for a fresh public mandate,” he said.

He expressed his annoyance with a section of Congress leaders rooting for the return of Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister. “Some Congress leaders are hatching a conspiracy to make Siddaramaiah Chief Minister again,” he said.

Responding to this, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao said he was unaware of the context in which Mr. Horatti had made the statement, but was confident that the coalition government would emerge stronger after the Lok Sabha poll results.