The political turmoil in Karnataka took a decisive turn late Friday evening with Janata Dal-Secular supremo H D Deve Gowda making it clear to the Bharatiya Janata Party that there will be no transfer of power in the state.
Gowda met BJP president Rajnath Singh in New Delhi and conveyed to him the sentiment of the JDS political affairs committee that power cannot be handed over to the saffron party, going back on a power-sharing agreement reached between the two parties 20 months ago.
Gowda's plain refusal came a week after he pulled out of talks with Singh complaining that BJP leaders in Karnataka had filed a murder case against Kumaraswamy, the son of the JDS chief.
"During the hour-long meeting, Gowda conveyed to Rajnath the sentiments of the PAC
the sentiment is that power should not be handed over to BJP," JDS spokesman Danish Ali said.
The PAC is meeting again on Saturday to be briefed by Gowda on what transpired in his talks with the BJP president.
Emerging from the meeting with Gowda, Rajnath Singh declined to say what the JDS chief told him.
The BJP high command has convened a parliamentary party meeting on Saturday after which a formal announcement on the withdrawal of support to the coalition government is expected.
There is no question of granting any more time to the JDS. We will not allow H D Kumaraswamy to continue in power anymore, a senior BJP leader said in New Delhi.
The BJP leader said that after the meeting, the leaders will submit their resignations to the Governor Rameshwar Thakur following which they will inform him abut the withdrawal of support to the government.
Former Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who had initially wanted two more days to convene the parliamentary party meeting, decided against it after the party high command made its intentions clear. He will fly down to Bangalore on Saturday to convene the meeting, sources said.
Insiders said the decision was taken after a marathon meeting of the JDS national executive committee at New Delhi on Friday. The meeting decided that the only way of continuing with the government would be with Kumaraswamy as chief minister.
The JDS said the BJP leaders had not agreed to their demands and hence transfer of power will be impossible. For public consumption, the JDS also said that it would be unsafe to hand over power to the BJP.
Kumaraswamy said he wanted an assurance from the BJP that they would govern the state well, as running the state was not child's play.
The BJP, however, says that these are excuses not to transfer power and it was in the best interest of the party as well as the politics of the state that the marriage between the two parties be annulled.
The JDS seems not too affected by the stance taken by the saffron party.
Even if the BJP pulls down the government, Kumaraswamy will continue as care taker chief minister until the next elections. The JDS is confident that the elections will be held only after November in the state.
Gowda, for now, says that he does not intend to take support from the Congress, in which case the only way out will be to face the elections. Earlier, he also denied having any back-door talks with the Congress.
Meanwhile, some BJP leaders in Karnataka are making a last ditch attempt to patch things up between the two parties. A faction of the BJP says that they will try and convince the JDS and later their high command.
This, however, seems to be highly impossible at this stage, as both parties have reached a point of no return. Gowda wants his son to continue as the chief minister while the BJP feels otherwise.
With both Singh and Gowda refusing to blink, it is becoming more and more evident that the people of Karnataka will have no option but see mid-term elections.
Additional Reportage: PTI
