Friends for free lunch

The BJP was justifiably delighted after having 8220;won8221; Karnataka; the formation of its coalition government with the majority JDS faction gave the party some solid good news amidst post-election gloom. It is time, though, for the party to consider whether the very fact that broke the Congress-JDS alliance is haunting it: the inability of the Gowda family run party to learn the basics of coalition politics. That, and not murky, minute details of mining contracts, is the most important implication of the political scrap witnessed on Monday between the state8217;s ruling partners.

Chief Minister Kumaraswamy8217;s typical response 8212; threatening to press criminal defamation charges against BJP politicians who made the allegation 8212; proves once more that the JDS is conditioned to see Karnataka as a family manor and while forced to allow others to live in it, it cannot hide its irritation at this compulsion. The BJP should really do a level-headed calculation of the benefits of such an alliance. Certainly, Kumaraswamy can8217;t get it extra votes in the next state elections. But if the CM8217;s 8220;development8221; record remains as it is, the BJP may suffer by association. Karnataka is the only state in the south where the BJP has a meaningful presence. Fresh elections may well be a better way for the party to take advantage of its strength than continuing with a fractious family.

The same principle holds for the Congress, which shouldn8217;t look at a BJP-JDS fight as another opportunity. Both the national parties, in fact, must have a line beyond which its coalition partners can venture only at the cost of the alliance coming into serious question. Knowing when to cut their losses is what differentiates mature, big parties from power-crazy smaller players. Whether in states or at the national level, once big parties signal that a coalition is not a free lunch, they may have to eat crow far less frequently.