Karnataka: Yeddyurappa Rules Out Mid-Term Polls, Asks Congress-JD(S) To Quit If They Can't Govern

Ruling out any mid-term polls, Karnataka BJP President B S Yeddyurappa Saturday said the Congress-JD(S) coalition government would not survive for long because of internal differences and asked it to quit if they were not able to govern the state.

"I have already said this clearly as the state president. We are 105 MLAs. There are more than 20 disgruntled (MLAs) in Congress-JD(S). If you don't have the capability to run the administration, resign," Yeddyurappa said.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said voters of the state would not agree for another election, 13 months after the assembly polls.

"Taking such decisions with selfish motives is not right. Resign and go home, we will run the administration- I have already said this... According to me, this government will not survive for long if you look at their infighting," he added.

Yeddyurappa's statement comes a day after former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda Friday said there was no doubt there would be mid-term polls to the state assembly.

Gowda had also said he did not know how long the Congress-JD(S) government, headed by his son H D Kumaraswamy, would continue and it was in the hands of the senior coalition partner.

State BJP in-charge Muralidhar Rao said the coalition government was against the mandate of the people and freeing Karnataka from it was his party's agenda and programme.

"We have to complete the incomplete work in Karnataka. After winning 105 seats, we are not in government. Those with 38 seats are running the government. This is a mockery of the public mandate...this government is against the mandate of the people, it is against the interests of Karnataka," he said, addressing party workers.

"BJP will leave no stone unturned to free Karnataka at the earliest from this government. This is our agenda, our programme," he added.

There is growing discomfort within the ruling alliance after the rout in the Lok Sabha polls. Congress and JD(S) that had faced the polls in alliance managed to win one seat each, while BJP won 25 seats.

The saffron party supported independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh won in Mandya.
Coalition leaders fear that using disgruntlement within as an opportunity, BJP may try to topple the government by 'poaching' its MLAs, who are unhappy with the government and are miffed over not getting Ministerial posts.

Yeddyurappa also hit out at Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's "Grama Vastvya" (overnight stay in villages) programme to make the administration more effective, terming it as a "political circus".

"After doing one day of Grama Vastavya and making false promises, citing rains there as a reason, he has come back via Hyderabad, without doing today's Grama Vastavya. This is a kind of political circus," he said.

Kumaraswamy was scheduled to hold his Grama Vastavya at Herur village in Kalaburagi rural taluk on Saturday, but it was postponed due to heavy rains that lashed the district on Friday evening. He had done his Grama Vastavya at Chandaraki village in Yadgir district on Friday.

(PTI)