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Patel still hopes Deve Gowda will compromise

A Special Correspondent in Bangalore

Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel is still holding out the olive branch to former prime minister H D Deve Gowda in a bid to resolve the crisis in the ruling Janata Dal.

Patel has delayed the allocation of portfolios to B L Shankar even two days after inducting him into the Cabinet.

He still wants to have a full-fledged expansion of the Cabinet after due consultation with Deve Gowda.

But the Deve Gowda camp appears to be focused on the proposed meeting of dissident legislators to decide its future course of action.

Deve Gowda returned from Delhi late this evening and was closeted with his supporters. "All decisions, including resignations from various posts, will be taken either on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning," a close associate said.

But a Cabinet minister said, "The chief minister is still waiting for Deve Gowda to suggest names of his nominees in the ministry. If Deve Gowda continues to stick to his stand, Patel may take similar steps like inducting Shankar."

Patel apparently wants to re-allocate portfolios to his ministerial colleagues once he has completed the process of consultation with Deve Gowda. If the latter does not oblige, he may go ahead with the expansion and "once and for all allocate portfolios'', as one of his supporters put it.

Patel's game plan appears to be to show that he has made all possible efforts to consult Deve Gowda. It is in this context that the chief minister has refused to accept the resignations of two of Deve Gowda supporters, S R Lakshmaiah, and K M Krishnamurthy.

But the Deve Gowda camp appears determined to thwart all efforts to placate them.

"Patel's efforts are also directed at breaking the group by offering posts to Deve Gowda's supporters," one of the chief minister's associates conceded.

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