The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to have its first Chief Minister in a southern state. The BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular), bitterly badmouthing each other just three weeks ago when they parted ways, made a sudden turnaround today to stake claim to form a new coalition government in Karnataka, with BJP’s B S Yediyurappa as Chief Minister.JDS chief H D Deve Gowda had denounced the BJP as a “communal party,” and vowed to “atone for the sin of allying with them.” The BJP had termed Gowda’s action “the worst betrayal.” It was a different story today.Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur assured the BJP and JDS delegations that met him separately that he would decide according to Constitutional provisions. “In the 224-member house, BJP-JDS has the support of 126 members. The Governor should immediately invite Yediyurappa to take oath as Chief Minister,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.But the BJP isn’t celebrating yet. Governor Thakur has asked all JDS MLAs to give individual letters pledging support to the BJP. He may ask Yediyurappa to head a government and then head to the Assembly for a floor test.The highpoint of today’s drama was a tiff between former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and the Governor. Upset at being made to wait at the gates of Raj Bhavan, Kumaraswamy reportedly asked the Governor if he was waiting for a signal from China (where Sonia Gandhi is visiting).What made the JDS change its heart? Sources say the party got jittery last night with reports that Siddaramaiah, R V Deshpande and D K Shivakumar — hawks in the Congress pack — had become active in trying to engineer a split in the JDS. For Gowda, Siddaramaiah, once his trusted man, is now anathema. With reports coming in that Siddaramaiah had a “secret meeting” with former Home Minister M P Prakash, Gowda decided that the time had come.Late last night, he gave son Kumaraswamy the green signal to speak to Yediyurappa extending support. Following this, Yediyurappa went into a huddle with his party leaders and even secured permission from the party national president Rajnath Singh. Gowda also called up Rajnath Singh in Lucknow and offered “unconditional support.” Singh consulted party’s senior leaders L K Advani, Arun Jaitley, Yashwant Sinha and M M Joshi and a quick decision was taken by 2 pm that the party could do business with the JDS yet again. “This is as per the original agreement between the BJP and the JDS. We are happy about the development and ministries will also be shared as per the agreement,” Singh said. At pains to explain the sudden turnaround, BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said “there can be a course correction any time,” while JDS spokesperson Danish Ali said “keeping the party united was the priority.” With elections round the corner in Gujarat, the BJP is wary of the JDS’s change of heart. But after seeking a slew of assurances, it said yes. Yediyurappa communicated this to Kumaraswamy following which a resolution was passed in the emergency JDS meeting to extend support to the BJP. “We have sent letters to President Pratibha Patil and Governor Rameshwar Thakur with a request to give an opportunity to BJP leader Yediyurappa to form the BJP-JDS government,” Kumaraswamy said. The man who lost out was Prakash. “I am surprised by the developments,” he said. “I came here (Delhi) after informing Kumaraswamy about my efforts (to form a government with Congress support). But without informing me, a decision was taken to support BJP to form the Government. It is unacceptable,” he added.Like Prakash, the Congress too was left speechless. Talking to reporters, KPCC president Mallikarjun Kharge denied the allegation that Congress was trying to split the JDS. He said that the Congress would “watch the situation and take the next step” after the Governor announces his decision.
