"Dissidence has caused damage to the image of the party"

Nevertheless, Patel was confident about the future of his government and his party when he spoke to Sharita Rai. Excerpts:After two years of dissidence and defeats, the victory in the by-elections silenced your detractors and critics. Has that advantage been lost by the dissidence led by Siddaramaiah?

I agree that it has. Though it has not affected the stability of the government, it has caused damage to the image of the party. We have to set that right. Now that we have proved that the people of Karnataka are behind this government, there will be nosevere damage.

You have had a reconciliation of sorts with Siddaramaiah. Do you anticipate problems in coming days?

All of us have to work towards strengthening the party and the government. If we weaken the government, we weaken ourselves. And that has been realised by all.

Does that mean that you do not anticipate any further problems within the party?

No. None at all. I do not think anybody is so irresponsible as to damage the government, the party and themselves.

Do you think then, that the succession issue has been resolved completely?

Succession will come up as an issue before the legislature party, after the elections, not now. We are not going to select successors. This is not a kingdom. We are democratic and even overly democratic. So we will conduct the elections (to the party posts), go to the polls and try our level best to bring the party back to power. Then the legislature party will select the leader. That is the true democratic process. How can we name asuccessor?.

But the entire controversy is said to have been sparked by your statement that you will not contest the next elections.

Even then, I have never said that I would not be working for the party. All of us should work for the party. Otherwise it will not come to power. So whether I contest or not, that will not be a problem in selecting a leader the next time….First win, bring the party to power and then think of a leader. Why do you quarrel about a leader before you come to power?

Since the leadership issue has been thrown up now, do you think it will adversely affect the party’s performance in the next elections?

No. The last time, Ramakrishna Hegde did not contest the elections. He also worked for the party. Bommai and Deve Gowda did too. So did I. We all worked for the party. That’s how we were back in power. Whenever we have quarrelled, people have punished us. Whenever we have come together, people have accepted us. This is a lesson we all have to learn.

You havesaid that you wanted to go in for district-wise representation in the forthcoming cabinet reshuffle, early next month. Will you be able to offload some ministers, since some districts are over-represented?

That depends on the outcome of these meetings — the district-wise consultations with party workers and legislators. If everybody wants to be a minister, you will have to dissatisfy some of them, inevitably.

You are known to be a very secular person. Yet there are charges that your cabinet is heavily loaded in favour of your community the Lingayats.

As I have said earlier, every community has been represented fully in the cabinet. Minorities, scheduled castes, backward classes, Vokkaligas, Lingayats. Everybody. But there is some kind of dissatisfaction from those who also want to be in the government. That is why I have said that I cannot be a Kalyan Singh.

Nevertheless, there are no Lingayats in Bihar. Unfortunately Lingayats are there only in Karnataka. This is a fact. So maybe there issome over-representation. That can be set right. That’s not a problem.

Do you think then, that in a sense, everyone has to fall back on their own community for votes?

Both the elections and the electoral constituencies have become totally devoid of any logic or ideology.

You have talked about a dynamic and result-oriented administration. Would you be able to deliver the goods with such a large cabinet? There are already 46 members.

If there is a consensus within the party, that it should be a very compact and performance-oriented cabinet, I have no objections.Sometimes you have to live with such things in a democracy. Even if I am against it personally. Look what is happening in the country. Elections have become gutters, where all these worms are born — communalism, criminalisation of politics and politicisation of criminals and so on. When compared to some states in the north, at least I am satisfied because we have been able to maintain law and order in the state. There are nocommunal riots. No organised violence. Maybe here and there, there is some rise in the crime graph….All in all, we are trying to give as good a government as possible…

Was the decision by senior leaders Deve Gowda and S.R. Bommai, to stay out of the day-to-day matters of the state, meant to give you greater independence, or the result of anger?

I think they should answer that question. I cannot.

Does the fact that five senior Vokkaliga leaders took your side in the recent controversy, suggest the waning of Deve Gowda’s clout in Karnataka politics?

No, no. They were not trying to belittle anyone or exaggerate anybody’s importance. The rationale behind their decision was to maintain the stability of the government and build a strong party. It was a good decision.

The Janata Dal seems to be vulnerable to the kind of factionalism that has seen the death of the party in many states. What do you think are the chances of that happening in Karnataka?

No, no. We will not onlysurvive, but will strengthen our base in Karnataka. Because I see no threat from either the Congress or the BJP, at the people’s level.

What about the factionalism within the party which has brought it to ruin in other states?

Everybody should learn a lesson from that. I think everybody has learnt it now. They cannot afford to lose the government (here), and lose the party.

What kind of a chief minister would you like to be remembered as, at the end of your tenure?

Like Patel, that’s all. I don’t want to imitate anybody. I am my own person.