K'taka set for 3-way race, numbers favour no party

POWER PLAY: The way Gowda manipulated this alliance in his favour will serve as a lesson of sorts.

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New Delhi: The inevitable has finally happened. The BJP has snapped its alliance with the JD(S) and the Karnataka government is on the brink of collapse.

While JD(S) President H D Deve Gowda looks at the move as his brinkmanship, BJP calls it betrayal.

"The issue is not power transfer. It is a betrayal by the JD(S),” said BJP leader Yashwant Sinha.

"They did not have the decency to communicate that the local leaders had made arrangements to form the government,” said Gowda.

Though the stage is set for a three-way race to form the next government, the numbers aren't on anyone's side.

Of the total 224 seats in the Karnataka Assembly, JD(S) has 58 while BJP with its ally the JDU has 84. Congress has 65 and Others have 17. The half-way mark, however, is 112.

So the only hope for Kumaraswamy to occupy the CM's chair is if the Congress supports him. But so far, the party has chosen to adopt a wait and watch policy.

We are dealing with two political parties who are power hawks. We should deal with them very carefully,” said Congress leader Veerappa Moilly.

For the BJP, it is a dream gone sour. Twenty months ago, the entire top brass of the party was in Bangalore celebrating its first step towards power in the South.

Now, it only has itself to blame. Questions will be asked: Who directed Ramumulu to file murder charges against Kumaraswamy? And could the party have handled the issue better?

Gowda is known as one of the shrewdest minds in politics. The way he manipulated this alliance in his favour will serve as a lesson of sorts for regional parties across the country out to prove that they are no less superior to the bigger national parties.

(With inputs from Divya Manu Chaudhry)