BJP-JD(S) coalition swearing-in Friday

Overcoming initial hiccups and the anxiety of former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Deve Gowda upsetting its apple cart, the Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to realise its long cherished dream of making Karnataka its gateway to South India when the BJP-JD(S) coalition Government, headed by Mr H D Kumaraswamy, will be sworn in by Governor T N Chaturvedi Friday.

Along with Mr Kumaraswamy of the JD(S), BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa would be sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister at around 1230 hrs, ushering in a new coalition era in the state with the BJP sharing power with the JD(S) on what was called the Jammu and Kashmir formula. The first 20 months would see Mr Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister and the BJP nominee would take over the reigns of the State from him for the remaining 20 months of the term.

The stage had been set for the swearing-in ceremony in front of the Vidhana Soudha, the State Secretariat, which would end the fortnight-long political drama, in which Mr Kumaraswamy, much against the wishes of his father Mr Gowda, dislodged the Dharam Singh-led Congress-JD(S) coalition and forged an alliance with the BJP to form the new Government.

The high drama, which also saw judicial intervention sought by three Legislators to prevent the JD(S) from joining with the BJP, however, had been disallowed by the Karnataka High Court which rejected a prayer for an interim stay to prevent the 35 rebel JD(S) MLAs from attending Assembly proceedings and holding office of profit.

The petitioners -- G V Sreerama Reddy (CPI-M), Vatal Nagaraj (Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha) and Rajendran (RPI) -- had contended that the MLAs had ceased to be members of the House once they went to the Governor and chose a different leader.

Meanwhile, the rebel MLAs met Mr Gowda to explain to him the circumstances that led to the political re-alignment. However, Mr Gowda did not budge from his known stand and was likely to leave for New Delhi tomorrow morning for the party's National Executive Committee meeting.

Talking to newspersons before a JD(S)LP meeting on the eve of the swearing-in ceremony, JD(S) State President N Thippanna said the meeting would decide the future course of action of the party.

Instructions would also be given to the legislators on how they should behave during the swearing-in ceremony, he added.

He said that with the JD(S) MLAs failing to convince Mr Gowda, the JD(S) would function as a regional party and chalk out economic and other development programmes.

Outgoing Chief Minister N Dharam Singh, in his farewell tea for the media, said the JD(S) would regret the "unholy" alliance with the BJP, which might prove to be a curse for them. It would realise later that the alliance with the Congress was better. He wished Mr Kumaraswamy good luck and would not hazard a guess on the longevity of the new Government.